By NewsGram Staff-Writer

Beirut: The Islamic State militants may have destroyed a temple at the ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria, according to a report in Times of India.

On last Tuesday, IS had beheaded Khaled al-Asaad, the Palmyra scholar and had hanged his body from a pole.

There are conflicting accounts regarding when this destruction of the Palmyra temple was carried out. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights believed that the temple was destroyed a month ago. On the other hand, Osama al-Khatib, an activist based in Turkey believed that the temple was destroyed on Sunday.

The famed Palmyra columns are believed to have been damaged as well during the blast at the temple.