Islamic State Destroys Ancient Sites and Antiquities.
The heaviest damage confirmed so far has taken place in the grand palace at Kalhu, from which Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II reigned in the 9th century BC, Rasheed said. The palace walls are lined with reliefs describing the king's military campaigns and conquests or depicting him hunting lions or making sacrifices to the gods.
"They are cutting these reliefs into small parts and selling them," Rashid said. "They don't need to excavate. They just need a chainsaw to cut (off) the king's head or legs if they want. "Recently they carved off a relief depicting a winged demon holding a sacred plant and sold it abroad, he said. "It is now beyond borders."
Authorities fear other sites will soon face destruction, including Mosul's city museum, which has rare collections of Assyrian artifacts, and the 2,300-year-old city of Hatra, a well-preserved complex of temples further south. From both locations, militants ordered out antiquities officials, chastising them for protecting "idols," Rashid said. So far, it appears the militants have not done anything with the artifacts at the sites because they are awaiting instructions from their religious authorities, he said.
The Islamic State terrorists seek to purge society of everything that doesn't conform with their strict, puritanical version of Islam. That means destroying not only relics seen as pagan but even some Islamic sites - Sunni Muslim shrines they see as idolatrous, as well as mosques used by Shiites, a branch of Islam they consider heretical.
http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/extremists+loot+destroy+ancient+sites/10221128/story.html
