AKIPRESS.COM - Satellite images confirm the destruction of another famed temple in Syria's Palmyra, the United Nations said late on Monday.

"We can confirm destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity," the UN training and research agency UNITAR said, providing satellite images from before and after a powerful blast in the ruins of the ancient city on Sunday.

The blast had already raised fears on Monday that the Islamic State group had damaged another of the Middle East's most treasured heritage sites.

UNITAR said its satellite programme put to rest any doubts that the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel had been destroyed in the blast.

A shot taken on August 27 clearly shows an erect, rectangular structure surrounded by columns, while a shot taken on Monday showed there was little left besides a few columns in the very outer edges of the site.