The global community must move quickly to save the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which is under assault by the Daesh group, Syria's director of antiquities told AFP Thursday.

The world "must mobilise before, not after, the destruction of the artefacts" at the site, Mamoun Abdulkarim said by phone.

"If IS enters Palmyra, it will be destroyed and it will be an international catastrophe. You can hide the objects, but how can you save ancient architecture?" he added.