The ruins of Hatra.

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants bulldozed early Saturday the ancient city of Hatra founded 3rd or 2nd BC by the Seleucide Empire, activists and Kurdish media reported.

Spokesman for the 14th branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Ninveh province Saeed Mumuzini told Rudaw news website that “ISIS militants used buldozzers to destroy Hatra city.”

“ISIS stole the ancient gold and silver coins, which were used by the Assyrian kings and were stored in the city,” Mumuzini added.

Hatra is located 80 kilometers south of Mosul, and is currently a district in the northern Iraqi city, which was seized in a lightening offensive by ISIS militants in June last year.

Hatra floused during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD as a religious and trading center after it was captured the Parthian Empire.

Later on, the city became the capital of possibly the first Arab kingdom in the chain of Arab cities running from Hatra, in the northeast, via Palmyra, Baalbek and Petra, in the southwest.

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