Islamic State Destroys Ancient Assyrian City

Iraqi officials said on Thursday that the Islamic State had bulldozed and looted the ancient city of Nimrud, a famed archaeological site in northern Iraq. The jihadist group has long waged a campaign to destroy the Middle East’s pre-Islamic history, most recently releasing a video showing its fighters smashing statues and carvings in the Mosul ...

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Iraqi officials said on Thursday that the Islamic State had bulldozed and looted the ancient city of Nimrud, a famed archaeological site in northern Iraq. The jihadist group has long waged a campaign to destroy the Middle East’s pre-Islamic history, most recently releasing a video showing its fighters smashing statues and carvings in the Mosul Museum. The city of Nimrud is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was the seat of the ancient Assyrian empire. It was built in roughly 1250 B.C., and destroyed in 612 B.C.

Iraqi officials said on Thursday that the Islamic State had bulldozed and looted the ancient city of Nimrud, a famed archaeological site in northern Iraq. The jihadist group has long waged a campaign to destroy the Middle East’s pre-Islamic history, most recently releasing a video showing its fighters smashing statues and carvings in the Mosul Museum. The city of Nimrud is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was the seat of the ancient Assyrian empire. It was built in roughly 1250 B.C., and destroyed in 612 B.C.

Netanyahu Receives Modest Boost From U.S. Speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still running neck-and-neck with his rivals in the upcoming parliamentary election, which is scheduled for March 17. Israeli polls show Netanyahu’s Likud Party received a slight boost from the prime minister’s speech this week in front of Congress, increasing its likely support by one or two seats. However, it is still in a virtual tie with the center-left Zionist Union. While public opinion surveys showed that many Israelis received Netanyahu’s address to Congress positively, a large percentage also said that the speech would not affect their vote.

Headlines

  • The leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization voted on Thursday night to suspect security cooperation with Israel.
  • The top military commander of Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, was killed in an airstrike.
  • Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal urged the United States to do more in the fight against the Islamic State, and warned of Iranian expansionism.
  • Egypt’s interior minister was removed from office in a Cabinet reshuffle.
  • The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote on a U.S.-backed resolution that condemns the use of chlorine bombs in Syria.

-David Kenner

John Moore/Getty Images

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