The Assyrian Church of Saint Elian is a pilgrimage site for Christians in the Middle East.
“There were holy sculptures and paintings, which are of great importance to Christians and Muslims living here. They are the common wealth of human beings but were destroyed by the extremists,” said Hayat Awwad, an official of the Syrian Information Ministry.
The extremists took everything inside the church and razed the walls and rooms. They even dug out burial items from graves.
Syrian government forces recaptured the strategic town from the ISIS last Sunday, one week after the retaking of Palmyra, Reuters reorted.
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