Islamic State has been destroying statues and artefacts from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra which the group captured in May.
A 2000 year old lion statue outside of the city's museum was destroyed on Saturday, reported Syria's antiquities director, Maamoun Abdelkarim.
IS also published images of combatants grinding to dust classical busts and statues, reportedly found being smuggled in Aleppo.
The group regards monuments and statues as idolatrous and has destroyed several sites associated with pre-Islamic and early Islamic civilisations in Iraq and Syria.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, spoke out against cultural destruction at Chatham House on Wednesday, saying “culture has always been the victim of war – as collateral damage, from direct targeting, from looting.”
Ms Bokova said “cultural cleansing is an attack against the people of Iraq and Syria - it is an attack against the humanity we all share,” and accused Islamic State of attempting to destroy the memories and identities of the region's peoples.
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