An ancient city known for its Assyrian relics has been liberated from the militant group, the Iraqi army has said. In 2015, the "Islamic State" destroyed several antiquities in what UNESCO said amounted to a "war crime."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/S. Baldwin
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Iraqi forces on Sunday recaptured the ancient city of Nimrud, marking another success in a campaign to uproot the "Islamic State" militant group, said Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC).
"Troops of the 9th Armored Brigade have fully liberated Nimrud and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings," said Abdul Amir Rasheed, commander of the government campaign in Mosul.
"The troops have inflicted casualties and hardware losses on the enemy," he added without providing further details of the operation.
However, several army officers told news agencies that Iraqi forces were still in the process of hunting down "Islamic State" fighters and defusing explosives in the area.
The militant group had captured the ancient city in 2014 during a violent campaign in which it gained control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
'War crime'
In 2015, the "Islamic State" circulated a video online showing its fighters destroying antiquities and artifacts with sledgehammers and explosives.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called the militant group's actions a "war crime."
Last month, Iraqi forces launched a campaign to reclaim the city of Mosul, where "Islamic State" leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had announced the creation of a so-called "caliphate."
Backed by Kurdish peshmerga and Shiite militias, Iraqi forces have made small albeit significant gains in pushing the militant group out of Iraq's third-largest city.
Meanwhile in Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a separate offensive to capture Raqqa, considered the militant group's de facto capital.
Palmyra: Destruction of an oasis of cultural history
Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered one of the most beautiful ruined cities in the Middle East. Now the "Islamic State" has seized the area and started destroying these ancient structures.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Scholz
Ancient temple destroyed
This part of the World Heritage site in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria no longer exists: "Islamic State" militants have blown up the 2,000-year-old temple of Baal Shamin. The inner area of the temple and the columns collapsed through the explosion. The rest of the ancient city remains strongly at risk.
Image: by-sa-Longbow4u
Ruins in a desert oasis
The ruins of Palmyra lie right in the middle of the Syrian desert. The once prosperous metropolis was surrounded by palms - hence its name - and for centuries was a stop for caravans traveling to the Silk Road. The settlement was a center of wealth and trade. But, gradually, the golden age faded, and sand blew over the city. The ruins were later excavated, and given World Heritage status in 1980.
Image: Fotolia/bbbar
Temple of Baal
In the 1st century AD, the Palmyrenes built a grand Roman-style temple for the deity Baal. It formed the center of religious life in Palmyra, which joined the Roman Empire under Emperor Tiberius some time after 14 AD. It is scarred with bullet holes - stark reminders of the ongoing Syrian civil war.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/F. Neukirchen
Avenue of treasures
Created in the 2nd century, the Great Colonnade stretches on for more than a kilometer (0.6 miles). Spices, perfumes, precious stones and other treasures once passed down this magnificent colonnaded boulevard. The avenue's entrance is marked by Hadrian's Arch, built in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It's a fine example of the Greco-Roman style, extremely popular at the time.
Image: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images
Roman monument
The Tetrapylon of Palmyra was built on a crossroads. The four groups of slender pillars, each supporting an alcove, were made of red granite brought in from the quarries of Aswan. Each one used to house statues. Today, almost all the columns are replicas. Only one is an original.
Image: Fotolia/waj
Oriental drama
Palmyra bore many characteristics of a Greco-Roman city. It had a portico, thermal baths and an amphitheater. Many oriental dramas were performed on this stage. Unfortunately, the plays, written in Aramaic, haven't survived. In addition to being a theater, the arena was also used for battles between gladiators and animals.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Marczok
Forum of high society
Some 200 statues of important individuals once stood here, taking up honored positions in the porticoes of the agora, or main square. In the agora's southwestern corner the remains of a building where the city council likely held its meetings can be seen. The council was made up of representatives from influential merchant families, responsible for shaping the fortunes of the desert city.
Image: picture-alliance/Robert Harding World Imagery/C. Rennie
Ornate burial
There are a number of burial grounds just outside the city gates. Large families built tall towers housing ornate sarcophagi and tombs big enough for several generations. There are also many underground gravesites decorated with rich architectural flourishes and frescoes that hint at the daily life and wealth of that period.
Image: Imago/A. Schmidhuber
Impending destruction?
In 300 AD, Palmyra became a military base, and came under the power of a string of different rulers. The golden age faded, and the city's splendor was covered up by the desert sand. The city's ruins survived the civil war raging in the country since 2011, but now, the ancient city is under threat from "Islamic State" militants, and UNESCO fears it could face a tragic fate.
