BEIRUT — The Islamic State group’s destruction this week of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq is being called a war crime and is part of a systematic campaign to destroy archaeological sites that the group says promote apostasy.
Some of the world’s most precious cultural treasures, including ancient sites in the cradle of civilization, are in areas controlled by the group and at the mercy of extremists bent on wiping out all non-Islamic culture and history.
Here’s a look at some of the major sites destroyed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and others under their control:
Nimrud
In the 9th century B.C., Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, became the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that came to rule much of present-day Iraq and the Levant and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is on the Tigris River just south of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud’s royal tombs was one of the 20th century’s most significant archaeological finds. The government said militants destroyed the site this week using heavy military vehicles.
Mosul museum
On Feb. 26, a video emerged on militant websites showing Islamic State militants with sledgehammers destroying ancient artifacts at the museum in Mosul, Iraq, which they referred to as idols. They also destroyed Nirgal Gate, one of several gates to Ninevah, the one-time capital of the Assyrian Empire.
Mosul libraries
In January, Islamic State militants ransacked the Central Library of Mosul, smashing the locks and taking about 2,000 books — leaving only Islamic texts. Days later, militants broke into the University of Mosul’s library. They made a bonfire out of hundreds of books on science and culture, destroying them in front of students.
Hatra
The militants control the 2,300-year-old city of Hatra, a well-preserved complex of temples south of Mosul and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Experts say large statues from Hatra have been destroyed or defaced.
Shrines
Last year, militants in Iraq destroyed the centuries-old Mosque of the Prophet Younis — thought to be the burial place of the Prophet Jonah — and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul. They also threatened to destroy Mosul’s 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure to protect it.
Dura Europos
The 2,300-year-old city in Syria overlooking the Euphrates River is a remarkably well-preserved cultural crossroads, a city first founded by Alexander the Great’s successors and later ruled by the Romans and various Persian empires. It boasts pagan temples, churches and one of the earliest known Jewish synagogues. Satellite imagery taken last year show the site pockmarked with holes from pillaging and illegal digs.
Mari
This ancient city is on the site of Tell Hariri on the western bank of the Euphrates River in Deir el-Zour province, Syria. It is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th millennium B.C. and was discovered in the early 1930s. It has also been severely looted by the Islamic State.
