Sat Apr 4, 2015 1:31PM
Video shows ISIL razing historic site in Iraq’s Hatra
In this image made from an ISIL video posted online on Friday, April 3, 2015, a piece falls off from a curved face on the wall of an ancient building as a militant hammers it in Hatra, 110 kilometers (68 miles) southwest of Mosul, Iraq. (© AP)
The ISIL has posted a video online purportedly showing the terrorists destroying a major world heritage site in Iraq's ancient city of Hatra.
The footage posted online late Friday shows the ISIL members smashing the walls and shooting with assault rifles at invaluable statues at an archaeological site in the city of Hatra in Iraq’s Nineveh Province.
The video, published on a website frequently used by ISIL, shows Takfiri terrorists using sledgehammers and pickaxes to reduce ancient statutes to crumbles. Other militants use Kalashnikov rifles to shoot at the priceless objects at the archaeological site, which is recognized as a World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The site was attacked last month by ISIL militants, according to residents and local officials. No clear estimate has been made on the extent of damage on the historic place as the city is located in the territory which is under the control of ISIL.
Parts of the video are dedicated to statements in Arabic by ISIL members who apparently say they destroyed the site because people worshiped it instead of God. The terrorist group has always tried to use religion as a cover for its murderous, inhuman activities in Iraq and Syria, where it has killed thousands of civilians and security forces over the past four years.
ISIL has already destroyed other notable sites in the territory north of Iraq. Back in March, the terrorists bulldozed the 3,000-year-old city of Nimrud, one of the world's most important historical sites. The destruction triggered worldwide condemnation, with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling it a “war crime.”
Another video in late February showed ISIL terrorists destroying the ancient artifacts at a major museum in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh and one of the group’s major strongholds in Iraq. The terrorists also burned hundreds of priceless books and manuscripts in Mosul Library and Mosul University in January.
Mosul and the surrounding areas were once occupied by the ancient Mesopotamians, who established a great civilization in the lands between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The artifacts in the Nineveh museum, which were mostly from the archaeological site in Hatra, were supposed to have great cultural and historic significance.
The Takfiri terrorists have already razed to the ground a number of mosques in Syria and Iraq, many of them belonging to the early years of the Islamic civilization. They have also destroyed tombs belonging to revered Shia and Sunni figures.
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