(AGI) Rome, April 4 - The Islamic State (ISIS) has releasedfootage of its latest blow against Iraq's cultural heritage atthe ancient city of Hatra, where militants destroyed statuesand bas-reliefs with sledgehammers and AK-47 rifles. The attackon the UNESCO World Heritage site was reported by theInternational Business Times. The video, titled "Smashingidols", is seven minutes long and opens with a aerial shot ofthe archeological site, which is located 290km north-west ofBaghdad in the Nineveh governorate. ISIS thugs then address thecamera in Arabic before they proceed to smash and blast theancient relics. Iraqi sources had reported in early March thatHatra had been razed by ISIS terrorists, but a team ofinternational archeologists from the non-profit Shirinorganisation disputed the reports after satellite imageryshowed no "visible destruction". The barbaric actions in Hatrafollow those in the ancient Assyrian capital of Nimrud and theNineveh Museum in Mosul, where fortunately the statuesdestroyed by ISIS were only copies. Hatra, now 80km south ofMosul, was founded in the 3rd century BC during the Seleuciddynasty and flourished as a religious and commercial centreunder the Parthian Empire. Later declared the capital of thefirst Arab Kingdom, Hatra resisted numerous attacks by RomanEmpire, repelling sieges by Trajan and Septimius Severus. Itfell to Persian troops of the Sassanid Empire in 240 AD. (AGI). .
