Ancient Palmyra lion statue damaged by IS goes on display in Damascus

The Lion of Allat statue from the 1st century AD went on display in Damascus National Museum Sunday after the 15-ton monument, heavily damaged by the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, underwent restoration. "It was an internationally known symbol of Palmyra, it was standing in front of the museum. Every tourist visiting Palmyra and the museum had a photo with it," said Polish archaeologist Bartosz Markowski, who worked on its reconstruction, as quoted by Reuters. Islamic State destroyed several landmarks, including the Triumphal Arch and the Roman Theater, after the group took control of Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site, in 2015.