Islamic State militants bulldoze 3,000-year-old Nimrud city

[caption id=“attachment_2141293” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] Islamic State militants trucked away statues as they damaged the irreplaceable remains of an ancient Assyrian capital last Friday. Screengrab from Youtube video.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2141295” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] Nimrud, a nearly 3,000-year-old city in present-day Iraq, included monumental statues of winged bulls, bearded horsemen and other winged figures, all symbols of an ancient Mesopotamian empire in the cradle of Western civilization. Screengrab from YouTube video[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2141297” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] The discovery that extremists removed some statues before using heavy equipment to destroy much of the site on Thursday was cold comfort as outrage spread over the extremists’ latest effort to erase history. Screengrab from YouTube video.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2141299” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] Some statues were “put on big trucks, and we don’t know where they are, possibly for illicit trafficking,” an UNESCO statement said. Screengrab from YouTube video.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2141301” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] The militants told the villagers that the artifacts are idols forbidden by Islam and must be destroyed, the farmer said, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. Screengrab from YouTube video.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2141303” align=“aligncenter” width=“940”] Islamic State militants told villagers in Nimrud that the artifacts are idols forbidden by Islam and must be destroyed, the farmer said, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. Screengrab from YouTube video.[/caption]