IS militants take hammer to priceless old artifacts

Seen as symbols of idolatry, relics are smashed by extremists claiming requirement by Muhammad

Islamic State militants in northern Iraq have destroyed a priceless collection of statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era, inflicting what an archaeologist described as incalculable damage to a piece of shared human history.

A video published by Islamic State extremists on Thursday showed men breaking up the artifacts, some of them identified as dating from the 7th century BC, with sledgehammers and drills, saying they were symbols of idolatry.