Assyrian Christians lament ISIS' destruction of ancient pyramid in Iraq

Jardine Malado Thursday, November 17, 2016

Remains of wall panels and colossal statues of winged bulls, destroyed by Islamic State militants are seen in the Assyrian city of Nimrud eastern bank of the Tigris River, south of Mosul, Iraq, last Nov. 16. | REUTERS/Ari Jalal

The Islamic State has destroyed heritage sites in the ancient Assyrian City of Nimrud as Iraqi forces continue to drive the militant group out of its strongholds.

One of the heritage sites destroyed by ISIS was the 2,900-year-old ziggurat in Nimrud. According to the Smithsonian, the ziggurats of Mesopotamia were considered as predecessors to other monumental structures like the Great Pyramids. The one in Nimrud was built by King Ashurnasirpal II and dedicated to Ninurta, a god of war and the patron deity of the city.

Iraqi forces announced on Sunday that it has liberated Nimrud from ISIS but experts are still waiting for permission to inspect the damage caused by the jihadists. The site has to be swept for booby traps and mines before civilian experts can assess the damages in person.

The satellite images indicate that ISIS used an earthmoving equipment to destroy the ziggurat. The Ishtar Temple situated nearby also sustained some damage. The â€ŽASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives stated in a Facebook post that most of the damage occurred between Aug. 31 and Oct. 2.

Afram Yakoub, a spokesperson for the Assyrian Confederation, said that the destruction of the ziggurat was "a failure for the world community which hasn't been able to protect world heritage sites in war zones."

"The Assyrian nation has survived countless attacks, massacres and genocides throughout history, this recent destruction saddens us but it also makes us more determined to fight for our survival as a nation," Yakoub told Christian Today.

Nuri Kino, founder and president of campaign group A Demand For Action, spoke recently with a man who escaped from Mosul in 2014. The man considered the destruction of the ziggurat as a "crime to humanity."

"We knew the destruction would be more than we believed before but... when the news came about Ziggurat it felt like torture. I don't think people understand what the world is losing here, maybe we need to compare the loss to if something would happen to the pyramids in Egypt," the man told Kino.

ISIS first bulldozed Nimrud last year as part of its efforts to destroy symbols it considers as idolatrous. The group also released a video showing its fighters destroying relics with explosives and electric drills.