The Islamic State has looted or destroyed a considerable portion of the Tal Ajaja archaeological site in northeastern Syria, according to Agence France-Presse. In 2014, video emerged of Islamic State 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 percent of Tal Ajaja was destroyed or ravaged” by the extremist group’s fighters. Moreover, as my colleague Loveday Morris detailed last year, the Islamic State — also known as ISIS and ISIL — developed a lucrative, illicit trade in smuggling the antiquities it chose not to smash. In the wake of the Islamic State’s departure, the extent of the damage the militants have wrought is being steadily discovered.

Source: Washington Post August 09, 2016 07:30 UTC