Channel 4 News: On March 6, there were reports that Islamic State fighters had looted Nimrud, in Iraq, in one of their several assaults on some of the world’s greatest archaeological and cultural treasures.

In the video uploaded on Saturday, a man said to be an IS militant said: “God has honoured us here in the Islamic State and helped us to destroy anything that used to be worshipped besides God in ancient days. Look at us here, all praise be to God, we are destroying all statues and monuments.”

Standing in front of explosives rigged in front of a stone frieze another man said: “We remove the signs of polytheism and spread monotheism in every single territory we acquire. By God, we will destroy the signs of polytheism and we will destroy the graves and shrines of the rejectionists (Shi’ites) in their homes.

“We will smash the (Christian) crosses and we will demolish the Black House (White House) in the middle of America, the home of infidels.”

This UNESCO video shows Nimrud before its destruction: