bonnie Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 ISIS Bulldozing of Ancient Nimrud Site in Iraq Stirs Outrage By RICK GLADSTONE MARCH 6, 2015 Photo A relief of a lamassu, a mythological creature with the body of a lion, wings and a bearded human head, in the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud, Iraq. CreditDeAgostini/Getty Images Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main storyShare This Page Continue reading the main story News that Islamic State fighters had bulldozed and vandalized the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq provoked widespread outrage on Friday, as archaeologists despaired that the militant extremist group was systematically destroying the priceless relics of a birthplace of civilization. The top cultural official at the United Nations called the latest destruction a war crime, and vowed to do “whatever is needed” to stop the plundering by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. “This is yet another attack against the Iraqi people, reminding us that nothing is safe from the cultural cleansing underway in the country,” said the official, Irina Bokova, who is director general of Unesco, the United Nations organization for education, science and culture. “It targets human lives, minorities, and is marked by the systematic destruction of humanity’s ancient heritage,” Ms. Bokova said in astatement on the Unesco website. Continue reading the main story RELATED COVERAGE ISIS Attacks Nimrud, a Major Archaeological Site in Iraq MARCH 5, 2015 Destruction of Antiquities by ISIS Militants Is Denounced FEB. 27, 2015 ISIS Onslaught Engulfs Assyrian Christians as Militants Destroy Ancient Art FEB. 26, 2015 graphic ISIS Attacks Against Assyrian Christians JUNE 12, 2014 Iraq’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed on Thursday that Islamic State militants had used bulldozers and other heavy vehicles to vandalize an important archaeological site at Nimrud, about 18 miles southeast of Mosul, the northern Iraqi city seized by the group in June. Continue reading the main story Nimrud, Iraq TURKEY IRAN SYRIA Mosul Nimrud NINEVEH IRAQ Tigris Euphrates Baghdad 100 MILES By The New York Times Nimrud was founded more than 3,300 years ago and was one of the capitals of the Assyrian empire. Its statues, frescos and other works are revered around the world. The Nimrud destruction came a week after Islamic State militants videotaped themselves marauding through Mosul’s museum, using sledgehammers and torches to destroy statues, artifacts and books. Ms. Bokova, who was visiting the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday to attend a Security Council meeting over the plundering of artifacts in northern Iraq, also planned to meet with Iraq’s ambassador, Mohamed Alhakim. “They’re taking us back to the dark ages, those people,” the ambassador said of the militants. “They are thugs.” He played down the significance of the Security Council meeting, and said it was important for other nations to stand with Iraqis “as we try to clear Iraq militarily of those people and to help us with that.” Islamic State leaders have sought to justify the cultural destruction by asserting that statues and other artifacts violate Islamic prohibitions on idol worship. But religious authorities have denounced the destruction as barbaric and anti-Islamic. Archaeologists and antiquities experts have also accused the Islamic State of selling many plundered artifacts, which suggests a cynical profiteering motive to the destruction. Abdulamir al-Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist who specializes in Mesopotamia at the Department of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, said in a telephone interview that Mosul residents had seen Islamic State fighters removing artifacts in order to sell them. He expressed alarm that the next target could be the ruins of Hatra, about 68 miles southwest of Mosul, which is also within the area controlled by the Islamic State. Hatra, thought to have been founded in the third or second century B.C., became an important religious center that was ruled by a succession of Arabian princes, and is one of several Unesco World Heritage sites in the region. “I’m really worried about Hatra now,” Mr. Hamdani said. “ISIS has a plan to destroy them one by one.” Somini Sengupta contributed reporting from the United Nations. Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
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