Damascus - Terrorist bands from the Islamic State (IS) destroyed the famous Monumental Arch in the Syrian city of Palmyra, an architectural jewel of the third century, confirmed today the Director General of Antiquities and Museums, Maamoun Abdulkarim.

The arch was one of the most valuable works this historic city treasured, located 223 kilometers northeast of the capital, and declared a World Heritage Site in 1980 by Unesco.

The Monumental Arch allowed the passage to the great avenue of the Great Colonnade, one of the jewels Palmyra treasures.

'It seems that a curse has fallen over this city, and I only wait for news that will worry us even more. If Palmyra remains in their hands, the city is doomed' Abdulkarim said.

On September 6, it was known that extremists from the IS had dug tunnels under the historical Monumental Arch, and explosives were placed in a new attempt to continue to destroy the universal cultural heritage of this area.

Two days earlier, three major funeral towers of high archaeological value had been also destroyed .

The towers correspond to the famous tombs of Elahbel, Jamblique and Khitot, works that 'symbolized the economic development of the city in the early centuries of our era'.

On August 30, armed extremists dynamited and destroyed the Bel temple ruins, an ancient monument,with 1,983 years of history.

Also, on August 24, the Baalshamin temple, another architectural jewel of nearly 2,000 years, had been also destroyed with a large amount of dynamite.

This sanctuary, one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, was built in the year 17, in the first century, and had survived many invaders and occupiers.

Other monuments destroyed by the IS were the mausoleum dedicated to Mohammad Ben Ali, a descendant of the family of the prophet Ali Ben Abi Taleb, demolished by an explosion, and the statue of the goddess Al-Lat, one of the most important archaeological pieces preserved in Palmira, which was destroyed with a hammer.

'Now is the destruction without sense- Abdulkarim said- the acts of revenge are not ideological, since buildings with no religious significance are being exploded' he added.