Islamic State militants smash artefacts in the ancient city of Nimrud before a massive explosion which is thought to have levelled the site
ISIS has released a video showing militants using power tools and bulldozers to deface and destroy ancient monuments in the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, before the site is levelled with explosives. Damage to the site was first reported in March, but the undated video lays bare the full scale of destruction, as the city is completely demolished.
The seven-minute video, posted late on Saturday, shows bearded militants using sledgehammers, jackhammers and saws to take down huge alabaster reliefs depicting Assyrian kings and deities. A bulldozer brings down walls, while militants fill barrels with explosives and later destroy three separate areas of the site in massive explosions. “God has honoured us in the IS to remove all of these idols and statutes worshipped instead of Allah in the past days,” one militant says in the video.