A fighter holding the Islamic State flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Islamic State terror group has reportedly destroyed an ancient Christian monastery in central Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the jihadist group bulldozed the Mar Elian monastery in al-Qaryatain, which is located in the Homs province and was recently captured from government forces by Islamic State.

Islamic State has also abducted 110 civilians from al-Qarayatain, including dozens of Christians, and transported them to its stronghold in Raqqa, Syria. The terror group will reportedly make the captured Christians choose between converting to Islam or paying a “jizya” tax.

Over time, Islamic State has made a point of destroying significant cultural and religious artifacts belonging to other civilizations that the terror group has deemed idolatrous and in violation of Islam. Recently, the jihadist group executed a world-renowned antiquities scholar and archaeologist, Khaled al-Assad, in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. According to activists and family members, Islamic State beheaded al-Assad and hung his mutilated body in the main square in Palmyra because he refused to reveal the location of artifacts that have been moved to protect them from the jihadist group.