A screengrab from the ISIS video.
IS militants can be seen using sledgehammers and assault rifles to destroy the artifacts in the video.
Hatra is a UNESCO-listed site that lies in IS-controlled territory around 100 kilometers southwest of Mosul.
Read: Top Muslim body slams IS for bulldozing Nimrud
UNESCO says the “remains of the city, especially the temples where Hellenistic and Roman architecture blend with Eastern decorative features, attest to the greatness of its civilisation.”
A screengrab from the ISIS video.
Iraq’s tourism and antiquities ministry said in March that IS had bulldozed the ancient fortress city of Hatra. The attack was part of a string of attacks targeting heritage, religious and cultural sites in Nineveh, which fell under the group’s sway in a lightning conquest last summer in which it took control of the city of Mosul.
Read: Iraq statue-smashing video sparks outrage, heritage fears
Hatra belonged to the 2,000-year-old Seleucid Empire, once controlled by Alexander the Great.
The video shows an aerial view of the ancient site made by a surveillance drone.
A militant in the video says, “Islamic State has sent us to these idols to destroy them.”
A screengrab from the ISIS video.
He further adds, “Some of the infidel organisations say the destruction of these alleged artifacts is a war crime. We will destroy your artifacts and idols anywhere, and Islamic State will rule your lands.”
Unesco has termed this act as “cultural cleansing” and said the destruction amounts to war crimes.
The courtyard of the royal palace at the archaeological site of Hatra in northwest Iraq between Mosul and Samarra. PHOTO: AFP
Read: Heritage destroyed: IS razing ancient Assyrian city
IS destroyed Hatra after they released a video of its militants smashing ancient artifacts and winged bull statues at Mosul museum and Nergal gate to ancient Nineveh.
The Hellenistic Temple of Mrn amid the remains of the ancient city of Hatra in the desert area in northwest Iraq, between Mosul and Samarra. PHOTO: AFP
In the recent attacks, IS bulldozed the Assyrian archaeological site of Nimrud, destroyed many priceless artifacts kept in the Mosul museum, and attacked the historic city of Dur Sharrukin.
Read: Nimrud, the jewel of the Assyrian era, bulldozed by IS
Images of the destruction of Christian and Shia shrines have also surfaced recently.
With the growing number of attacks, many Chaldean and Syriac Christians have fled Iraq in the fear of being executed or converted forcibly.
This story originally appeared in The Guardian.
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