In an apparent video message, ISIS forces occupying the ancient city of Palmyra and its environs have stated that they do not intend to bulldoze its architecture, but plan to “pulverize” unspecified statues that they believe have been worshipped by “heretics” in the past. The video, published on YouTube yesterday, announces the conquest of the territory by one Emir Abu Laith al-Saudi, and is narrated by an unidentified speaker who also integrates audio purportedly of al-Saudi himself. The veracity of the message cannot be independently confirmed, but it has been assumed to be authentic by specialists on the subject, including the journalist Hassan Hassan, co-author of “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.”
The al-Saudi audio in question translates to:
“As far as the archaeological city, we will preserve it and it shall not be harmed god willing. However, we will pulverize the statues that the heretics used to worship in the past. In the case of the historical structures… we will not harm them with bulldozers, as some believe we might.”