ISIS beheads Palmyra antiquities expert and displays his mutilated body in the centre of the historic city

Depraved militants fighting for the Islamic State in Syria have brutally murdered an 82-year-old retired archaeologist because he refused to tell them where gold and ancient statues were hidden.

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The family of Khaled Asaad are said to have been told that the retired scholar, who worked for more than 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra, was beheaded by ISIS yesterday. Mr Asaad had been detained and interrogated for over a month by the ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants, who demanded to know where many of the ancient city's priceless artifacts had been taken in the days before and after ISIS took control of the city. Read more: