Iraq condemns destruction of ancient Assyrian site by IS

The Iraqi government on Friday condemned the destruction of an ancient Assyrian site by the Islamic State (IS) militant group near Iraq's northern city of Mosul, a government statement said.

The statement came after reports saying that the IS militants looted the archeological site of ancient Nimrud city, which is located some 30 km southeast of the city of Mosul.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities "condemns these criminal acts and calls upon the UN Security Council to rapidly convene for an emergency," the statement said.

It said the extremist militant group "is defying the will of the world and the feelings of humanity by the new reckless crime when it razed the archeological city of Nimrud and appropriated ancient sites dating back to 13 centuries BC."

Last week, the IS group released a video showing a group of militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers smashed large statues and unique artifacts from archeological sites and Nineveh provincial museum.

In the chaos following the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, the Iraqi national museum was also ransacked by looters. An estimated 15,000 priceless antiquities were lost and only about haft of them have been recovered so far.

Chaos and fragile security during the post-invasion years left many historic sites in the hands of looters who carried out random excavations and stole tens of thousands of antiquities, usually causing irreversible damage.

Earlier, the IS extremists destroyed many old temples, shrines, churches and precious manuscripts in the city of Mosul and many other areas. Endit