ISIS destroys, loots archaeological sites near Kirkuk

Iraqi media outlets reported on Sunday that ISIS blew up and robbed graves and archaeological sites in the areas under its control, southwest of the province Kirkuk.

Looters at the archaeological site of Isin, Iraq [Credit: U.S. Department of Defence/WikiCommons]

“ISIS bombed nearly 100 archaeological graves in the vicinity of Hawija (55 km southwest of Kirkuk), using explosive materials and bulldozers,” Al Sumaria News stated. “Groups belonging to ISIS exhumed a number of archaeological sites in the areas of Tel al-Mahwis and al-Riyadh (45 km southwest of Kirkuk) and stole antiquities found in those locations,” Al Sumaria added.

The Iraqi website also revealed that the members of the terror group did not receive their salaries due to the loss of financial resources, which was provided by the smuggling of crude oil. Thus, selling antiquities provides needed financial resources for the ISIS group.

The areas located southwest of Kirkuk have been under the ISIS control since June 2014, including the areas of Hawija, Zab, Riyad, Abbasi and Rashad. These areas are known to have important antiquities and archaeological sites belonging to the Assyrian era.

Source: Iraqi News [October 04, 2016]