Sad, for so many reasons.

The man who looked after the Roman ruins in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra is reported to have been killed by Islamic State (IS) militants.

Khaled Asaad was taken hostage by the group after it seized the Unesco World Heritage site earlier this year.

The family of the 82-year-old scholar said he had been beheaded by IS fighters, according to Syria’s director of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim.

Mr Asaad had spent more than 50 years working on Palmyra.

He was head of antiquities at the ancient ruins, which is considered one of the most important historic sites in the Middle East.