READ MORE: Jihadists smash Iraq’s 2,000-year-old statues to dust in new ISIS video
The seven-minute video shows the jihadists vandalizing the ancient reliefs in Nimrud, an area that is held by militants. They also used sledgehammers and drills to bring down some of the walls and ultimately levelled the whole complex with explosives.
The video follows a statement made by Iraq's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in March. It said Nimrud, a UNESCO cultural heritage site with archaeological riches dating back to the 13th century BC, was bulldozed with heavy machinery. RT could not verify the footage.
On Sunday, an Iraqi Antiquities Ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told AP that all items at the cultural site were authentic.
The jihadists have previously said they consider the artifacts to be idolatry. The militants, who have created a self-proclaimed caliphate in northern Iraq and parts of Syria, have been waging a campaign to obliterate cultural sites and relics, which do not fall in line with their ideology.
Another video released in April, shows the Islamic State (IS) destroying the 2,000-year-old ruins in the ancient Hatra city in northern Iraq, 110 kilometres south of Mosul.
The jihadists obliterated ancient artifacts in the Mosul Museum in February, while they also blew up the Mosul Public Library, using homemade bombs. The Central Library of Mosul was not spared either. IS militants burned all the books and left only Islamic publications.
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