Islamic State bulldozes Hatra as a part of its cultural cleansing mission

#Hatra #Nimrud #ISIS #Mosul #Iraq #UNESCOWorldHeritage After the destruction of Nimrud the Islamic State have now targeted the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in Iraq as a part of what it has termed as a cultural cleansing mission as reported in news.sky.com dated 7 March 2015.
UNESCO has already said that the destruction of Nimrud "constitutes a war crime" and has called on people around the world to protect "the heritage of the whole of humanity". Nimrud, located on the River Tigris just south of Mosul, had fallen to the ISIS last June.
The IS has now turned its attention on looting and destroying artefacts from the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in Iraq. According to a Kurdish official, the militants have removed artefacts from Hatra and have taken activities to destroy the Roman period ancient fortress city.
It seems local residents near Hatra had heard two large explosions followed by bulldozers moving in.
Hatra was founded over 2,000 years ago and is the second ancient city that had been targeted by IS militants in recent days. The city is located 68 miles south-west of Iraq's second largest city Mosul and had been declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985. As UNESCO director general Irina Bokova has remarked - the destruction of Hatra marks a turning point in the appalling strategy of cultural cleansing under way in Iraq.