Blown to bits, famed Syria temple falls victim to Turkey assault For 3,000 years, the lion sculptures of Syria's Ain Dara stood as testaments to the Iron Age. But as Turkish bombardment pounds the region, they have little left but their paws. Syrian and Kurdish authorities have blamed the damage on Ankara's offensive on Afrin, a Kurdish-controlled pocket of northwest Syria. The Turkish military has insisted that "religious and cultural buildings, historical sites, archaeological ruins and public facilities are absolutely not among the targets of Turkish Armed Forces". IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES