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Islamic State militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers have destroyed priceless ancient artefacts in Iraq’s city of Mosul, a video released by the jihadists Thursday shows.
The destruction sparked widespread consternation and alarm, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it to the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
The United Nations’ cultural agency immediately demanded an emergency meeting of the Security Council, arguing that heritage protection was an integral part of Iraq’s security.
The video shows IS militants knocking statues off their plinths and rampaging through the Mosul museum’s collection, which includes artefacts from the Assyrian and Hellenistic periods dating back to several centuries before Christ.
It also shows jihadists using a jackhammer to deface an imposing granite Assyrian winged bull at the Nergal Gate in Mosul.
“Muslims, these artefacts behind me are idols for people from ancient times who worshipped them instead of God,” said a bearded militant speaking to the camera.
“The so-called Assyrians, Akkadians and other peoples had gods for the rain, for farming, for war… and they tried to get closer to them with offerings,” he goes on.
“The prophet removed and buried the idols in Mecca with his blessed hands,” he said, referring to the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
Experts said the items destroyed include original pieces, reconstructed fragments and copies.
Thomas Campbell, the director of New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art condemned the “act of catastrophic destruction to one of the most important museums in the Middle East.”
“This mindless attack on great art, on history, and on human understanding constitutes a tragic assault not only on the Mosul Museum, but on our universal commitment to use art to unite people and promote human understanding,” he said in a statement.
The artefacts destroyed are from the Assyrian era and from the ancient city of Hatra, which lies in the desert about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Mosul.
(AFP)
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