Islamic State extremists have continued their attack on Iraq's cultural and historical heritage by bulldozing a second ancient site, officials say.

Officials in the northern city of Mosul, which is under the control of the terror group, reported jihadists have begun destroying the archaeological site of Hatra in northern Iraq.

It comes after fanatics went on a rampage in the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, destroying the 3,000 year-old winged statues placed at the gates of the Palace of Ashurnasirpal.

Days earlier, the group targeted a museum in Mosul, toppling statues, and using power drills and sledgehammers to destroy artefacts - as part of a wider plan to rid its territory of symbols they say promote idolatry.

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Officials in the northern city of Mosul confirmed militants with the terror group have begun destroying the archaeological site of Hatra in northern Iraq. A file photo shows the temple to the Shamash sun god in Hatra

Iraq's minister of tourism and antiquities said the government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in northwestern Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group

An official with the ministry of tourism and antiquities' archaeological division in Mosul, who spoke under anonymity for fear of reprisal, told the Associated Press that multiple residents living near Hatra heard two large explosions this morning.

Residents then reported seeing bulldozers begin demolishing the site.

Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, told the AP that militants had begun carrying away artifacts from Hatra as early as Thursday.

Today, they began to destroy the 2,000-year-old city.

The extent of the damage at Hatra is unknown as the ministry has not yet received any pictures of the current state of the area, which was named a World Heritage Site in 1987.

ISIS extremists targeted a museum in Mosul using power drills and sledge hammers to destroy artefacts

But one resident in the area told Reuters that he heard a powerful explosion early on Saturday.

He added others nearby said Islamic State militants had destroyed some of the larger buildings in Hatra and were bulldozing other parts.

Islamic State has been campaigning to purge ancient relics they say promote idolatry that violates their fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law.

A week ago, militants released a video showing them smashing statues and carvings in the Mosul's museum, which is home to priceless Assyrian and Hellenistic artefacts dating back 3,000 years.

The majority of the artifacts destroyed were from Hatra.

And on Friday, the group looted artefacts from Nimrud and bulldozed the ancient city, sparking global outrage.

An ISIS fanatic uses a power tool to destroy a winged-bull Assyrian deity at a museum in Mosul last week

UNESCO condemned the actions as 'cultural cleansing' and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon branded the actions 'a war crime'.

Iraqi Tourism and Antiquities Minister Adel Shirshab said that many feared Hatra would suffer the same fate as Nimrud.

'This is not unusual (behavior) for Daesh,' he said, using the derogatory Arabic acronym for the group.

A statement on the ministry's Facebook page added the government is investigating reports of the attack on Hatra, adding that the global community should hasten its response to the crisis in Iraq in order to prevent these types of atrocities.

HATRA: A 2,000 YEAR-OLD CITY DESTROYED Hatra is located 110 kilometers (68 miles) southwest of the city of Mosul. It dates back 2,000 years to the Seleucid empire which controlled a large part of the ancient world conquered by Alexander the Great. It is famous for its striking pillared temple at the centre of a sprawling archaeological site. It was a large fortified city during the Parthian Empire and capital of the first Arab kingdom. The ancient city, a UNESCO world heritage site, is said to have withstood invasions by the Romans in A.D. 116 and 198 thanks to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers. A temple to the Shamash sun god still stands more than 1,750 years after the Sassanian empire razed the Mesopotamian city. The ancient trading center in Hatra spanned 6 kilometers (4 miles) in circumference and was supported by more than 160 towers. At its heart are a series of temples with a grand temple at the center — a structure supported by columns that once rose to 100 feet. Advertisement

Saeed Mamuzini, a spokesman for the Mosul branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party, said the militants had used explosives to blow up buildings at Hatra and were also bulldozing it.

The antiquities ministry said the lack of tough international response to earlier Islamic State attacks on Iraq's historic sites had encouraged the group to continue its campaign.

'The delay in international support for Iraq has encouraged terrorists to commit another crime of stealing and demolishing the remains of the city of Hatra,' it said.

Last year, the militants destroyed the mosque believed to be the burial place of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, as well as the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis — both revered ancient shrines in Mosul.

They also threatened to destroy Mosul's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.

Archaeologists compared the assault on Iraq's cultural history to the Taliban's destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas in 2001.

But the relentless havoc wreaked by Islamic State, has not been limited to ancient monuments, but also extended to rival Muslim places of worship

Islamic State, which rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, promote a fiercely purist interpretation of Sunni Islam, which draws its inspiration from early Islamic history.

They rejects religious shrines of any sort and condemn Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims as heretics.

Last July, militants destroyed the tomb of the prophet Jonah in Mosul, the largest city under their control.

Meanwhile, a US-led coalition has been striking Islamic State since August and is preparing a large-scale operation to retake the city of Mosul.