Priceless artifacts in city of Mosul are the newest victims of the brutal rule ISIS has imposed in Iraq's north.

The terrorist group used sledgehammers and drills to smash several large statues, one of which dated to the 7th century B.C., The Associated Press reported.

ISIS, which refers to itself as the "Islamic State" and controls large swaths of territory across Iraq and Syria, released a five-minute video that shows the destructions. It described the relics as idols that had to be removed.

Affected were artifacts housed inside the Mosul Museum, where statues were shown chipped and in pieces, and a winged-bull protective deity at a nearby archaeological site. A black-clad man is seen using a drill to destroy the ancient Assyrian work of art.

"Oh Muslims, these artifacts that are behind me were idols and gods worshipped by people who lived centuries ago instead of Allah," an unidentified man announces in the video. "The so-called Assyrians and Akkadians and others looked to gods for war, agriculture and rain to whom they offered sacrifices. Our prophet ordered us to remove all these statues as his followers did when they conquered nations," he added.

The video displayed the logo of the ISIS media arm and was posted on a Twitter account used by the group, according to CNBC.

Amir al-Jumaili, a local archaeology expert, told AP that the two sites seen in the footage are the city museum and a site known as Nirgal Gate, one of several entries to Ninevah, the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. The kingdom, which first arose around 2500 B.C., stretched from the Mediterranean coast to present-day Iran.

"I'm totally shocked," al-Jumaili said. "It's a catastrophe. With the destruction of these artifacts, we can no longer be proud of Mosul's civilization."

ISIS has conducted a campaign of destruction of a number of shrines -- including Muslim holy sites -- that it views as heresy. The terror group has also been accused of selling ancient artifacts on the black market in order to finance its operations.

Related