Iraq vows to stop IS from smuggling antiquities
Print Edition
ISLAMIC State militants who destroyed priceless antiquities from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have kept some artefacts to sell, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said yesterday, vowing to prevent the radical Islamists from smuggling them to the market.
Responding to a video showing Islamic State fighters taking sledgehammers and power drills to sculptures and statues which date back nearly 3,000 years, Abadi also appealed for international support to thwart the “terrorist barbarians.”
“We have information that Islamic State destroyed some (artefacts) and kept others for smuggling, and the smuggling operation is afoot,” he told a news conference in Baghdad.
All the items were marked and recorded, he said, and Iraq would seek to track them down with international help.
“We will chase them with the world on our side. This is a serious call to the Security Council and the United Nations and all peace-loving states to chase them all,” he said.
The video, released on Thursday, showed men smashing up artefacts dating back to the 7th century BC Assyrian era, toppling statues from plinths, smashing them with a sledgehammer and breaking up a carving of a winged bull with a drill. Archeologists said some of the items were from the ancient Mesopotamian cities of Nimrud and Nineveh, where Mosul now stands, as well as the ruins of Hatra, which dates back more than 2,000 years.
A commentary on the video said the statues were sacked because they promoted idolatry.
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