BAGHDAD: Daesh insurgents have posted a video showing a 3,000-year-old temple being blown up at the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, in their latest assault on some of the world’s greatest archaeological and cultural treasures.
The UN confirmed in a statement on Wednesday evening that satellite imagery showed “extensive damage to the main entrance” of the temple of Nabu, the Babylonian deity of wisdom.
Nimrud was a 13th century BC Assyrian city, located 30 km south of the modern city of Mosul, which the hard-line Daesh militants seized control of in June 2014.
The date of the video was unclear and Reuters could not independently verify its authenticity.
It also showed scenes of bulldozers razing the ancient Gate of Nergal, part of the historic Nineveh city wall in Mosul, which was reported earlier this year.
A bearded man in the video said that the destruction was meant to prevent Muslims from returning to idolatry.
Meanwhile, forces aligned with Libya’s unity government were engaged in fierce clashes with Daesh on Thursday in the group’s stronghold of Sirte, but were facing resistance from snipers as they edged towards the city centre.
Brigades in the western city of Misrata have advanced rapidly, driving militants back along the coastal road west of Sirte before seizing strategic points on the edge of the city.
Daesh video shows Assyrian temple blown up in Iraq
Daesh video shows Assyrian temple blown up in Iraq
