SOURCE: STEP FEED

BY: SARAH TRAD

Going by different names depending on the media outlet, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Daesh, IS, ISIS, or ISIL – has made sure to gain many other titles to go along with their heinous acts in the region.

Taking over Syria and Iraq in 2014, the terrorist group went after ethnic and religious minorities, as well as numerous historic sites – which by title belong to the world, as UNESCO categorizes them.

As many thousand-year-old cities and artifacts have been demolished, bulldozed, and looted by ISIS, this list remembers 10 of the oldest and most important sites that went under attack.

The Roman Theatre in Bosra has been one of Syria’s historical sites since the 2nd century AD.

The façade of the theatre was destroyed by the terrorist group, who used “dynamite, fire, bulldozers and pickaxes,” according to NPR.

After ISIS took over Palmyra in 2015, its members rampaged the Tetrapylon monument which dates back to 270 AD.

From 16 standing columns, which are a few meters away from the Roman Theatre, only four remained.

What used to be one of Palmyra’s best-conserved Roman buildings, the 2nd century BC Temple of Baalshamin, is now nothing but ruins.

Even though it is said that this Roman site was ransacked by thieves during Syria’s civil war, ISIS made sure to add more damage.

The terrorist group dug holes that led to ancient artifacts, which they later sold for millions of dollars.

This 8th century AD mosque and a Unesco World Heritage site was demolished during a fight between the Syrian Army and Free Syrian Army in April 2013.

This ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh was laid as the basis for most of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Guarded by five gates, the 900-600 BC site – and “at one point the largest city in the world” – had its share of ISIS’ vandalism and destruction in 2015.

The first Assyrian capital from over 3,000 years ago, not yet fully uncovered as some of it remains hidden underground, and an internationally revered site was bulldozed by ISIS.

In March of 2015,  a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conveyed anger and disappointment in the demolition of this ancient city, which he considered as “common cultural heritage.”

The mosque of Prophet Yunus – respected and revered by all three Abrahamic religions – is located in Mosul and contains the tomb of whom it is named after.

In 2014, a video was uploaded on YouTube, showing the moment the mosque was bombed by ISIS, targeting Jonah’s tomb specifically.

The city of Mosul holds – or to correct this, previously held – many historic monuments that are titled “world heritage.”

As the city was captured by ISIS in 2014, the terrorist group subjected Mosul to horrendous destruction, targeting sites such as the Mosul Museum and the city’s historic library.