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Obliterating the past: The ancient sites destroyed by Islamic State

Kurdish forces are currently battling to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from the clutches of Islamic State.

An estimated 3,000 ISIS fighters are holding the city, which has been under the control of the terrorist group since 2014. It is the last Iraqi city under the control of Islamic State.

As Iraqi forces have recaptured land across the country, a catalogue of destruction has been uncovered - over the last two years ISIS has carried out a campaign of annihilation of historical sites in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

When militant fighters first took over Mosul in 2014, video footage soon emerged of terrorists burning, looting and destroying the city’s libraries, museums and cultural heritage sites, as part of IS’s campaign of destruction of places of worship.

The terrorists claim that the sites represent idolatry, and used proceeds from plundering the locations to fund their campaign of violence.

These are some of the most important sites that have now been lost.