Nimrud: Outcry as IS bulldozers attack ancient Iraq site

Archaeologists and officials have expressed outrage about the bulldozing of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud by Islamic State militants in Iraq.

IS began demolishing the site, which was founded in the 13th Century BC, on Thursday, according to Iraqi officials.
The head of the UN's cultural agency condemned the "systematic" destruction in Iraq as a "war crime".
IS, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, says shrines and statues are "false idols" that have to be smashed.
"They are erasing our history," said Iraqi archaeologist Lamia al-Gailani.

IS says ancient shrines and statues are "false idols"

Nimrud (pictured) lies just south-east of Mosul, which IS controls

Remarkable bas-reliefs, ivories and sculptures have been discovered in Nimrud

Some Nimrud artefacts have been moved - such as these statues now housed in Baghdad

Nimrud lies on the Tigris river, about 30km (18 miles) south-east of Mosul, which IS controls.
Many of the artefacts found there have been moved to museums in Baghdad and overseas, but many remain on site.
BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir says the attempt to destroy Nimrud is already being compared with the Taliban's demolition of the Bamiyan Buddha rock sculptures in Afghanistan in 2001.
As well as destroying artefacts, Islamic State also trades in them - and the trade is one of its key sources of revenue.
'Levelled' IS "assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles," the tourism and antiquities ministry said on Thursday.
It said the militants continued to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity", calling for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss how to protect cultural heritage in Iraq.
Nimrud covers a large area, and it is not yet clear whether it has been totally destroyed, our correspondent says.
But a local tribal source told Reuters news agency: "Islamic State members came to the Nimrud archaeological city and looted the valuables in it and then they proceeded to level the site to the ground.
"There used to be statues and walls as well as a castle that Islamic State has destroyed completely."

Profile of Nimrud

Many Nimrud artefacts are now housed overseas - including these ivory pieces at the British Museum

• Ancient Assyrian city on the River Tigris
• Capital of Assyria for about 150 years
• First excavations in modern times undertaken by Europeans starting in the 1840s
• Treasures unearthed included sections of royal palaces, individual statues and smaller artefacts
• Investigations stopped for decades but in 1949 Sir Max Mallowan (husband of writer Agatha Christie) began fresh excavations
• Extensive photographic record of remaining treasures made in the 1970s