Islamic extremists target world's priceless treasures

From Mali to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, extremist fighters have regularly turned their sights on the priceless vestiges of peoples' cultural heritage - for being un-Islamic.

The International Criminal Court on Monday will open the trial of Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi, an extremist on a charge of war crimes for the destruction of shrines at the World Heritage site of Timbuktu in Mali.

The following are examples of world cultural heritage destroyed or damaged during recent conflicts.