Daesh has looted or destroyed a considerable portion of the Tal Ajaja archeological site in northeastern Syria, according to Agence France-Presse. In 2014, video emerged of Daesh militants smashing Assyrian statues at the site. Khaled Ahmo, director of antiquities in Hasakah province, where the ancient mound is located, told AFP that “more than 40 per cent of Tal Ajaja was destroyed or ravaged” by the extremist group’s fighters. Tal Ajaja, about 48 kilometres from the border with Iraq, is one of a series of vast Mesopotamian mounds rich in artifacts and relics going back about three or four millennia. Moreover, Daesh developed a lucrative, illicit trade in smuggling the antiquities it chose not to smash.

Source: thestar August 09, 2016 17:21 UTC