Outcry as Islamic State bulldoze ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud in latest 'war crime'

ISLAMIC State terrorists have bulldozed the remnants of an ancient Iraqi city, the country's tourism and antiquities ministry has said.

Iraqi workers cleaning a statue of winged bull in Nimrud in 2001AFP/GETTY

Iraqi workers cleaning a statue of winged bull in Nimrud in 2001

The 13th century Assyrian city of Nimrud has been "assaulted" and "bulldozed with heavy vehicles", the ministry said on its Facebook page.

The statement did not elaborate on the damage but said that IS (also known as Isis or Isil) continues to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity" with this latest act.

Officials said that shortly after noon prayers yesterday, the terrorists began destroying the archaeological site.

Trucks which may have been used to loot historical artefacts were also reportedly spotted near the site, situated close to the Tigris river.

Nimrud is located near Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city which was seized by IS last summer.

The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud's royal tombs was one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. 

Assyrian artefacts in Baghdad's museumAP

Assyrian artefacts in Baghdad's museum

People have compared it to King Tut's tomb

After Iraq was invaded in 2003, archaeologists were relieved when they were found hidden in the country's central Bank - in a secret vault-inside-a-vault submerged in sewage water.

Suzanne Bott, the heritage conservation project director for Iraq and Afghanistan in the University of Arizona's College of Architecture, Planning and Archaeology, worked at Nimrud on and off for two years between 2008 and 2010. 

She helped stabilise structures and survey Nimrud for the US State Department as part of a joint US military and civilian unit.

She described Nimrud as one of four main Assyrian capital cities that practiced medicine, astrology, agriculture, trade and commerce, and had some of the earliest writings.

Priceless artefacts in Mosul's museum were destroyedIG

Priceless artefacts in Mosul's museum were destroyed

She said: "It's really called the cradle of Western civilisation, that's why this particular loss is so devastating. 

"What was left on site was stunning in the information it was able to convey about ancient life.

"People have compared it to King Tut's tomb."

The destruction of Nimrud comes just days after an IS video showed militants destroyed ancient statues with sledgehammers at Mosul's museum.

The destruction of the historical artefacts – some thousands of years old – are  the latest in a trend by the Islamic State to eliminate what they view as heresy.

Despite the incidents, Iraq's national museum in Baghdad opened its doors to the public last week for the first time in 12 years in a move to defy efforts "to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilization", according to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

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