Video purports to show ISIL destroying ancient city of Nimrud

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: IS group destroys ancient ruins of Nimrud An online video purports to show Islamic State militants bombing ruins at the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud. In the video, militants use sledgehammers, a bulldozer and explosives to level the site, located near the militant-held city of Mosul. (April

A video purporting to show Islamic State extremists destroying the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud has been posted online.

In the video, militants use drills, sledgehammers and a bulldozer to destroy ancient stone reliefs and walls, before huge explosions can be seen. The video footage could not be independently verified by USA TODAY.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, considers the artifacts to be idolatry.

The video, posted late Saturday, follows a statement from Iraq's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in March that the militants used heavy armed military vehicles to bulldoze Nimrud, near the country's second largest city of Mosul, which is held by the Islamic State.

Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon called the devastation "a war crime."

A militant in the video said: "God has honored us in the Islamic State to remove all of these idols and statutes worshiped instead of Allah in the past days," the Associated Press reported.

Another militant says "whenever we seize a piece of land, we will remove signs of idolatry and spread monotheism."

The AP added that authorities also believe the extremists have sold artifacts on the black market to fund their atrocities.

The ancient kingdom of Nimrud, on the banks of the Tigris River, began around 900 B.C. and was destroyed in 612 B.C.

A previous video posted on a social media account affiliated with the Islamic State showed militants using sledgehammers to knock over artifacts at the Mosul museum and destroying ancient Nineveh gates.