On Thursday, Syrian official Maamoun Abdulkarim called upon the international community to help defend the ancient ruins of Palmyra, which was being threatened by advancing Isis militants.

As reported by Fox News, Abdulkarim stressed that if the group entered the city it would mean the destruction of 2,000-year-old temples, ruins and tombs.

The ancient Semitic city of Palmyra is famous for its Roman-era ruins. As reported in the Guardian, members of Isis were, according to Syria’s director of antiquities, battling with Syrian troops a mere mile from the remains of one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, declared that Palmyra, which was once on a caravan route at the crossroads of a number of ancient civilizations, was under threat.

Isis is known for destroying precious historical artifacts. In March the jihadist group bulldozed the ancient city of Nimrud, an area near Mosul which is located in a city in northern Iraq that the militant group conquered last summer.

Before this, the group released a video of some if its members toppling and smashing ancient Assyrian statues in a Mosul museum as well as destroying a winged bull near the ancient Nergal gate to Nineveh.

Abdulkarim is certain that if Palmyra is taken over by Isis the city would suffer as Nimrud had, saying: “If Isis enters Palmyra, it will spell its destruction."

And this destruction would be a loss felt by the entire world. “If the ancient city falls, it will be an international catastrophe. It will be a repetition of the barbarism and savagery which we saw in Nimrud, Hatra and Mosul,” Abdulkarim added.

Isis is no doubt on the advance. As reported by the Associated Press, their militants just captured the principal government compound in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's western Anbar province.

The militant group raised their black flag over the government facility and burned the police headquarters.