The United Nations has confirmed that the Temple of Bel -- an ancient stone ruin which has been the focal point of religious observation in Palmyra, Syria for nearly 2,000 years -- has been destroyed by ISIS.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has now released imagery that shows the Baal Shamin Temple and the Temple of Bel have both been demolished. As reported in CNN, Einar Bjorgo, a manager at the institute, said he could "confirm destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity."

Islamic militants had captured the Unesco World Heritage site from government forces back in May. Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Bjorgo said, "Unfortunately, the images we acquired do show that the main building of the temple has been destroyed."

The Temple of Bel, considered one of the most important sites in Palmyra, displayed a historically rare fusion of Middle Eastern, Greek and Roman influences.

Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums had, before the recent destruction, revealed his deep pessimism regarding the future of Palmyra, saying, "I am sure we will have more bad images [in the future] because these people... are ignorant, they are very criminal."

ISIS has been similarly destroying ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq for some time now. The sites they raze are considered symbols of idolatry by the terrorist organization.

Several weeks ago Khaled al-As'ad, an 82-year-old academic who had spent his life preserving antiquities in Palmyra, was killed by ISIS because he had refused to reveal where irreplaceable relics had been hidden for safekeeping. Asaad’s son spoke to the New York Times about his father and explained that he had refused to leave the city, mistakenly believing ISIS would never bother with someone his age.