Islamic State 'blows up Palmyra arch'

Islamic State militants in northern Syria have blown up another monument in the ancient city of Palmyra, officials and local sources say.

The Arch of Triumph was "pulverised" by the militants who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP news agency.

It is thought to have been built about 2,000 years ago.

IS fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group monitoring the conflict, and Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karim said sources on the ground had confirmed the destruction.

Unesco's director general Irina Bokova has said the destruction constitutes a "war crime" and called on the international community to stand united against IS efforts to "deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history".

IS believes shrines or statues represent idolatry, and should be destroyed.

In August, the group destroyed the ancient Temple of Baalshamin - one of the city's best-known buildings built nearly 2,000 years ago.

IS militants captured the historic site from Syrian government troops in May, amid a series of setbacks for forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.