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ByAlbertAji The Associated Press PALMYRA, SYRIA Explo- sions rocked the ancient town of Palmyra on Friday and on the horizon, black smoke wafted behind its majestic Roman ruins, as Syrian army experts care- fully detonated hundreds of mines they say were planted by Islamic State militants before they fled the town. An Associated Press crew visiting the town Fri- day witnessed firsthand the destruction inflicted by the extremist group on the town's famed archaeo- logical site, less than a mile away from the modern-day town of the same name, now completely deserted. While some parts of the site, including the Roman- era grand colonnades and amphitheater appeared relatively untouched, the damage was very much vis- ible elsewhere. The remarkable Arch of Triumph, built under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus between A.D. 193 and A.D. 211, has been re- duced to a pile of stones, blown up by IS extremists who filmed the destruction for the world to see. The monumental arch once sat atop the famed colonnaded streets of the ancient town. The Temple of Baalsha- min and parts of the Tem- ple of Bel, one of the best- preserved Roman-era sites, are also destroyed. Apart from the Roman ruins themselves, heavy damage could be seen on parts of the walls of Pal- myra's towering Mamluk- era citadel, built during the Islamic conquest in the 13th century. On top of the scarred citadel, a Syrian flag flies in the wind. Palmyra is located about 155 miles east of Damascus, the Syrian capital. Govern- ment troops, backed by al- lied militiamen and Rus- sian airstrikes retook the town on Sunday from IS militants who had con- trolled Palmyra and its en- virons for 10 months. Ancient Palmyra is a UNESCO heritage site — an archaeological gem that attracted tens of thousands of tourists every year. It was completely de- serted on Friday, except for Syrian army soldiers work- ing on dismantling explo- sives and visiting journal- ists. The town — about a kilometer away from the ruins — is completely de- serted, its remaining resi- dents had fled as the Syrian army's offensive against IS began a month ago. Traces of the fighting could be seen all around. Burned cars parked on the side of the road, electric- ity cables strewn about on the streets, and scattered empty water tanks appar- ently used as barricades. At the entrance to the Roman amphitheater, where IS filmed children shooting captive Syrian soldiers in the head, black graffiti is sprayed on a stone wall. "Lasting and Expand- ing," it read in Arabic, a logo of the Islamic State group. "The Islamic State" is scribbled on another nearby wall. A Syrian officer told re- porters that more than 3,000 mines have so far been dismantled. "They booby-trapped everything, trees, doors, animals," he said, speaking of the mili- tants. Russian sappers have arrived in Syria to help the Syrian army clear mines in and around the town. Later Friday, Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported that Syr- ian engineering teams and popular defense groups un- covered a mass grave in a northeastern neighbor- hood of Palmyra contain- ing the remains of about 40 people, 23 of them women and children. The report, which could not be independently veri- fied, said the people were killed by IS extremists. It said some bodies were be- headed, others bore signs of torture. The recapture of Pal- myra was a strategic coup for President Bashar Assad through which he hopes to convince the West that the Syrian army is a credible partner in combatting ter- ror as it ramps up the fight against the Islamic State. "The Syrian army is de- fending Rome and London in as much as it is defend- ing Damascus," another officer told the visiting re- porters Friday. Both offi- cers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give statements to media crews. He handed reporters a booklet he said the mili- tants had apparently dis- tributed to Palmyra resi- dents. It reads: "Loyalty to Is- lam, not to the nation." SYRIA Palmyra:Ghosttownbearing scars of militants' destruction SANA Palmyra is an archaeological gem that Syrian troops took back from Islamic State fighters in central Syria. GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An arrivals and departure board is seen behind blown out windows at Zaventem Airport in Brussels. By John-Thor Dahlburg and Lorne Cook The Associated Press BRUSSELS Struck by sui- cide bombers 10 days ago, the airport known as "the heart of Europe" has stopped beating tempo- rarily, causing headaches for thousands of business and vacation travelers, and painful financial losses for Belgium's capital and tour- ism industry. It's still unclear when Brussels Airport will re- open. But a key hurdle ap- peared to have been cleared Friday evening when police unions, which had threat- ened a strike, reached a pre- liminary deal with govern- ment negotiators on how to bolster security to min- imize more violence. The agreement, which must be formally approved by both sides, calls in part for hiring 200additionalairportpolice officers,saidStephaneDeldi- cque,anofficialwiththeCSC Public Service Union. A Belgian government official, speaking on condi- tion of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements, told The Associated Press things now appeared on track for passenger service to resume at a reduced level on Sunday morning. Patrick Bontinck, general manager of Visit Brussels, the official municipal tourist organization,saidhotelreser- vations have dropped by half since the March 22 attacks at the airport and the Brus- sels Metro, meaning a loss of 8,000-10,000 visitors a day to the city that is home to the headquarters of the Eu- ropean Union and U.S.-led NATO alliance, and styles it- selfas"thecapitalofEurope." One cause for the drop in business, Bontinck said, is the suspension of the 600 daily passenger flights to and from the Brussels Air- port, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers in February. But he said there has also been an over- all "decline in image" for Belgium's capital, a popu- lar destination for lovers of beer, chocolate and Flemish art and architecture. The city has been identified in countless international me- dia accounts as a hotbed of Islamic radicalism. Brussels may not be the only capital to be suffering economic consequences from the bloodiest explo- sion of extremist violence in Belgium since World War II. Bontinck said fig- ures received by his office indicated hotel reserva- tions over the same period dropped 35 percent in Paris, 38 percent in Berlin and 29 percent in London. A er 10 days, airport still closed to passengers BRUSSELS By Rishi Lekhi and Rishabh R. Jain The Associated Press KOLKATA, INDIA Indian police on Friday arrested three officials and detained seven more from a com- pany constructing an over- pass that collapsed onto a crowded Kolkata neigh- borhood, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 80. Rescuers cleared the crumbled concrete and twisted metal rods a day after the collapse in the crowded area of the east- ern Indian city. They have pulled out 67 people alive. "There is no possibility of finding any person alive," said S.S. Guleria, deputy in- spector general of the In- dia's National Disaster Re- sponse Force. He said engi- neers were being consulted about part of the overpass still hanging over the di- saster area, after which workers will "slowly start dismantling this particu- lar section to avoid any col- lateral damage to houses around it." The arrested and de- tained employees worked for Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure Co., which was contracted in 2007 to build the overpass. INDIA 3 construction officials arrested over overpass collapse that killed at least 24 Construction Burrows Construction Remodel, New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Water and Dryrot New Construction Foundation to Finish Ph:(530) 515-9779 Residential•Commerical PATIOS•DECKS REFRENCES Lic#824770 Roofing Call for Estimates! Residential, Commercial & Mobiles www.harbertroofing.com HARBERT ROOFING, INC. 530-223-3251 Lic# 696974 Time To Roof? Blinds Need Blinds? 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