Holy relics found at site blown up, bulldozed by IS militants

BONES of Christian saints have been uncovered in the remains of a Syrian monastery blown up by Islamic State (IS) militants.

Video footage and pictures from the Mar Elian monastery were released as Syrian government forces entered the town of al-Qaryatain yesterday after it was recaptured by Syrian government forces.

The remains of revered religious figures appear to have been thrown into a room along with empty cardboard boxes, clay pots and rubbish as part of attempts by IS to destroy the monastery.

The holy site in the province of Homs was blown up and bulldozed in August.

“The bones of Christian saints rested in peace for hundreds of years, before Islamic State came to the monastery of St Elian,” British Channel Four correspondent Lindsey Hilsum reported.

Other bones appear alongside broken blocks bearing Christian crosses and piles of rubble remain scattered across the religious site, 1.5m from al-Qaryatain town centre.

The monastery was established more than 1 500 years ago and was named after a third-century Christian from Homs who was killed by his father, a Roman officer, for refusing to renounce his faith.

It had been restored just 10 years ago with the help of an Italian priest, who had re-established another monastery, Mar Musa, near Damascus.

The terrorist group destroyed Mar Elian, on the pretext that it was used for worshipping others than God, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said last year.

At the time, IS also captured hundreds of Christians, some of whom were later freed, and desecrated a graveyard where monks had been buried.

The group may have used parts of the monastery left undestroyed for storage and sleeping.

Previously, Christians and Sunni Muslims lived side by side in al-Qaryatain.