Iraq retakes town of Nimrud near ancient Assyrian city, Iraqi military says

For centuries, the massive Assyrian city in northern Iraq lay buried beneath the sands of time, forgotten by history.

Archaeologists first began excavating Nimrud – built nearly 3,000 years ago – in the 1840s. In the decades that followed, they unearthed priceless treasures from the city, including palaces adorned with unique frescoes and giant sculptures that offered a window into Iraq’s glorious past.

Last year, ISIS blew up the ancient walled city.

The terror group released disturbing footage of the destruction. Militants with electric drills and sledgehammers smashed statues and tore holes in the walls. Bulldozers razed structures to the ground. The last frame of an ISIS video captured a massive explosion and a cloud of smoke and dust.

UNESCO described the deliberate destruction of Nimrud as a “war crime.”

On Saturday, Iraqi forces reclaimed the modern town of Nimrud, close to the ancient city, as part of the ongoing battle for Mosul – ISIS’ last major stronghold in Iraq, according to a statement from Iraq’s Joint Military Command. Several ISIS militants were killed in the battle to liberate the town, the statement said.

Nearly a week ago Iraqi forces liberated a nearby village also known as Nimrud and the site of the ruins. Nimrud is 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Mosul.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in conflicts

Nimrud and Nineveh

Nimrud and nearby Nineveh are the sites where two Assyrian kings, Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) and Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.), recorded successful military campaigns on the walls of their palaces, according to the World Monuments Fund, a group dedicated to saving the world’s most treasured places.

“The palaces of Sennacherib at Nineveh and Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud are vestiges of the political, cultural and artistic height of the Assyrian Empire. The remains of these palaces, the only Assyrian palaces left preserved and decorated with reliefs, are now protected against vandals and function as site museums where visitors can appreciate ancient wall reliefs in their original setting,” the fund said in a website posting before this week’s ISIS assault on Nimrud.

Nimrud flourished between 900 B.C. and 612 B.C. Buildings there “have yielded thousands of carved ivories, mostly made in the 9th and 8th centuries B.C., now one of the richest collections of ivory in the world,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica’s website.

The famous British mystery novelist Agatha Christie accompanied her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, at his excavation in Nimrud and helped clean some of the ivories.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images

Great Mosque of Samarra —

Once the largest mosques in the world, built in the 9th century on the Tigris River north of Baghdad. The mosque is famous for the Malwiya Tower, a 52-meter minaret with spiraling ramps for worshipers to climb. The site was bombed in 2005, in an insurgent attack on a NATO position, destroying the top of the minaret and surrounding walls.
Video: ISIS targets historical artifacts

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

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Palmyra, Syria —

An "oasis in the Syrian desert" according to UNESCO, this Aramaic city has stood since the second millennium BC and featured some of the most advanced architecture of the period. The site subsequently evolved through Greco-Roman and Persian periods, providing unique historic insight into those cultures. ISIS now controls the ancient city and has destroyed shrines, temples and monuments.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Getty Images

The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan —

The most spectacular legacy of Buddhism in the war-torn country, among the tallest standing Buddhas in the world -- the larger at 53 meters, the other 35 -- had survived over 1,500 years since being carved out of sandstone. The Taliban considered the monuments idolatrous and destroyed them with dynamite.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Alex Potter

Sanaa old city, Yemen —

Yemen's capital city of Sanaa has seen several suicide bombings for which ISIS claimed responsibility, and air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition -- although it is unclear who is responsible to the latest damage. These have affected both the old fortified city -- inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1986 -- and the archaeological site of the pre-Islamic walled city of Baraqish, causing "severe damage," according to UNESCO itself.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Fulvio Spada, CC BY-SA 2.0

The ancient city of Bosra, Syria —

Continually inhabited for 2,500 years, and became the capital of the Romans' Arabian empire. The centerpiece is a magnificent Roman theater dating back to the second century that survived intact until the current conflict. Archaeologists have revealed the site is now severely damaged from mortar shelling.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Michael Nicholson/Corbis Historical/Corbis via Getty Images

The Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria —

A world heritage site originally built in 715 by the Umayyad dynasty, ranking it among the oldest mosques in the world. The epic structure evolved through successive eras, gaining its famous minaret in the late 11th century. This was reduced to rubble in the Syrian civil war in 2013, along with serious damage to the walls and courtyard, which historians have described as the worst ever damage to Syrian heritage.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

WIKI COMMONS

Norias of Hama, Syria —

These 20-meter wide water wheels were first documented in the 5th century, representing an ingenious early irrigation system. Seventeen of the wooden norias (a machine for lifting water into an aqueduct) survived to present day and became Hama's primary tourist attraction, noted for their groaning sounds as they turned. Heritage experts documented several wheels being burned by fighters in 2014.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Courtesy Guillaume Piolle/CC-BY-3.0

Citadel of Aleppo, Syria —

The fortress spans at least four millennia, from the days of Alexander the Great, through Roman, Mongol, and Ottoman rule. The site has barely changed since the 16th century and is one of Syria's most popular World Heritage sites. The citadel has been used as an army base in recent fighting and several of its historic buildings have been destroyed.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

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Aleppo Souk, Syria —

The covered markets in the Old City are a famous trade center for the region's finest produce, with dedicated sub-souks for fabrics, food, or accessories. The tunnels became the scene of fierce fighting and many of the oldest are now damaged beyond recognition, which Unesco has described as a tragedy.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Leber/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Deir Ez-zor bridge, Syria —

This French-built suspension bridge was a popular pedestrian crossing and vantage point for its views of the Euphrates River. It became a key supply line in a battle for the city, and collapsed under shelling. Deir Ez-zor's Siyasiyeh Bridge was also destroyed.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Flickr Commons

Nimrud, Iraq —

The ancient Assyrian city around Nineveh Province, Iraq was home to countless treasures of the empire, including statues, monuments and jewels. Following the 2003 invasion the site has been devastated by looting, with many of the stolen pieces finding homes in museums abroad.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Courtesy Joris Rietbroek

Crac des Chevaliers, Syria —

The Crusader castle from the 11th century survived centuries of battles and natural disasters, becoming a World Heritage site in 2006 along with the adjacent castle of Qal'at Salah El-Din. The walls were severely damaged by regime airstrikes and artillery in 2013, and rebels took positions within it.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Irqai Cultural center

Jonah's Tomb, Iraq —

The purported resting place of biblical prophet Jonah, along with a tooth believed to be from the whale that consumed him. The site dated to the 8th century BC, and was of great importance to Christian and Muslim faiths. It was entirely blown up by ISIS militants in 2014 as part of their campaign against perceived apostasy.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

WIKI COMMONS

Khaled Ibn Walid Mosque, Syria —

Among Syria's most famous Ottoman-style mosques, which also shows Mamluk influence through its light and dark contrasts. The vast site became a hub of the battle for Homs, itself a front-line of the conflict. The sacred mausoleum has been completely destroyed, and much of the interiors burned.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

wiki commons

Armenian genocide museum, Syria —

Memorial site to the 1.5 million killed between 1915 and 1923, the Deir Ez-zor became a yearly destination for pilgrims from around the world. The site included a church, museum, and fire that burned continuously. The complex was destroyed by ISIS in 2014.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Getty Images

Cyrene, Libya —

A key city for the Greeks and Romans, established in 630 BC. Famed as the basis for enduring myths and legends, such as that of the huntress heroine of the same name and bride of Apollo. The ruins were some of the best preserved from that period, but in the wake of Libya's revolution, vast tracts have been bulldozed including its unique necropolis complex.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Courtesy B.O'Kane / Alamy

Museum of Islamic Art, Egypt —

Home to one of the world's most impressive collections, with over 100,000 pieces that cover the entirety of Islamic history. The Cairo site was first built in 1881, the museum recently underwent an eight-year multi-million dollar renovation. Shortly after re-opening, a car bomb targeting a nearby police building caused catastrophic damage and forced the museum to close again.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Wiki commons

Quaid e Azam residency, Pakistan —

This 121-year-old wooden building, humble but elegant, was home to the nation's first governor general Muhammed Ali Jinnah for the last phase of his life. The residency was attacked with rocket fire by a separatist group in 2013, and almost completely demolished. A new structure is being built on the site.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

Courtesy Charles Cushman Collection, Indiana University Archives

'Old Beirut', Lebanon —

A 15-year civil war of incredible brutality, successive battles with Israel, and sweeping urban development has robbed the 'Paris of the Middle East' of much of its visual lustre. Once known for its landscape of swaggering Ottoman, French and Art Deco architecture, officials say just 400 of 1200 protected historic buildings remain.

Photos: Precious monuments lost in Middle East

AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images/Irqai Military

The Great mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul —

Before-and-after photographs of the destruction. The US and ISIS trade blame for its loss.

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ISIS has destroyed other ancient and deeply meaningful sites in Iraq. Officials have said ISIS has blown up shrines such as the tomb of Jonah.

Last year ISIS militants with sledgehammers obliterated stone sculptures and other centuries-old artifacts in the Mosul Museum.

“ISIS continues to defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity,” Iraq’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement then, condemning the destruction in that museum.

“Letting these lost gangs go without punishment will encourage them to destroy humanity’s civilization, the Mesopotamian civilization, inflicting irreversible priceless damages and losses.”

Other precious monuments destroyed by war

Iraq’s neighbor Syria is also a treasure-trove of archaeological sites, many of which have been reduced to rubble during that country’s ongoing civil war.

ISIS is part of a puritanical strain of Islam that considers all religious shrines – Islamic, Christian, Jewish, etc. – idolatrous.

It is not the only militant group bent on the destruction of the symbols of ancient life. In 2001, the Taliban blew up giant statues, the Buddhas of Bamiyan, in Afghanistan despite international pleas to spare the country’s pre-Islamic relics.

The destruction has disturbed many scholars and historians.

“All attacks on archaeological sites and artifacts are brutal assaults on our collective human memory,” Cornell University archaeologist and classicist Sturt W. Manning wrote in a commentary last year for CNN. “They deprive us of the evidence of human endeavors and achievements.”

CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.