Baghdad - Islamic State extremists destroyed rare ancient artefacts, including large statues from the Assyrian empire dating back more than 2 600 years, according to video footage from northern Iraq released by the jihadist group.
The video has been reviewed by experts, who told dpa that dozens of original statues from 7th century BC Nineveh - which might have then been the world's largest and most important city - were destroyed beyond repair.
The statues and stone reliefs, depicting ancient deities and mythical creatures such as giant winged bulls with human heads, were smashed by Islamic State extremists using sledgehammers and jackhammers.
“These are very important historical pieces,” said Peter A Miglus, a professor at Heidelberg University and an expert on ancient Iraqi civilizations.
“When I see these on the floor, broken into many pieces, it will be very difficult to restore,” Miglus told dpa while reviewing the five-minute video.
“It is like you destroyed the Sphinx in Egypt,” said Markus Hilgert, the director of the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin, calling the incident a “catastrophe.”
Some of the pieces were massive, coming in at more than 4 metres in length. They had served as parts of palaces to gods and the walls of the city and many were uncovered by British archeologists in the 19th century.
“These were some of the most important fortifications in the ancient world,” Miglus said.
Among the items destroyed were giant pieces that could have been part of the Gates of Nergal, the entrance to a temple which venerated the ancient god of destruction.
Experts believe some of the items might have been commissioned by Sennacherib, an Assyrian king mentioned in ancient religious texts such as the Hebrew Tanakh or the Christian Old Testament, who destroyed the Kingdom of Israel and attacked Judah.
The pieces in the video had survived countless wars and changes of power in Iraq during the course of more than two dozen centuries.
Rare hunting scenes etched in stone were also on display at the Mosul museum, which also saw some of the attacks featured in the video. It is unclear whether those works survived the onslaught.
The relics highlight how Iraq sat at the heart and crossroads of many ancient civilizations, including the Assyrians - whose empire lasted for more than 1 500 years - the Babylonians and the Persians.
There are some similar reliefs and statues in museums in London, Paris and New York, but Milgus said “every piece is unique,” and bemoaned their loss.
“These are of the most important Assyrian antiquities,” he said.
Irina Bokova, head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said she was “deeply shocked” by the destruction and has asked the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting on the protection of cultural heritage in the region.
“This attack is far more than a cultural tragedy - this is also a security issue as it fuels sectarianism, violent extremism and conflict,” Bokova said.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, called the act “reprehensible” saying that the destruction of cultural heritage robs a society of its past and future.
Iraq's heritage has suffered much damage and looting since the 2003 US-led invasion.
The Islamic State group is waging a campaign to wipe out all relics of polytheism and other beliefs they consider heretical, part of their extreme interpretation of the Islam.
A member of the group, who speaks over the video, said the destruction mirrored actions by the revered patriarch Abraham, or Ibrahim, who in the Koran and Bible destroyed his father's idols as a sign of his turn towards monotheism.
The unnamed militant also says that when the Muslim prophet Mohammed conquered Mecca, he ordered all idols demolished.
The Islamic State has destroyed numerous shrines and mosques as it rampages across Iraq and Syria.
This week it was reported the group burned down a library housing important manuscripts and archives in Iraq.
The Taliban in Afghanistan and jihadists in Mali have also turned their weapons on key symbols of ancient civilizations, most notably when the Taliban destroyed several giant Buddhist statues in 2001.
Sapa-dpa