Militants from Islamic State have destroyed the remains of the ancient site of Hatra, Iraq’ Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reported on its website on Saturday. The city, around 110 km south of Mosul, dates back to the second century BC and has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1987. A fortified centre for trade and religion during the Parthian Empire and the capital of the first Arab Kingdom, it withstood repeated attacks from Roman armies due to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers, according to Unesco.
According to Reuters, a resident near the city said he heard an explosion early on Saturday. An official at the ministry told the news agency that there had been reports of militants demolishing buildings in Hatra, but it was difficult to know the extent of the damage. On Thursday, the group attacked the city of Nimrud with bulldozer, and the week before they vandalised museums in Mosul and Nineveh. A video released by the terrorist organisation shows extremists taking sledgehammers and drills to antiquities, calling them “false idols”.
Unesco’s Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement on Friday that the Islamic State’s “deliberate destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a war crime” adding that “there is absolutely no political or religious justification for the destruction of humanity’s cultural heritage”.