Experts say this destruction of ancient artifacts is more than just collateral damage in a time of conflict. They say this is also a key component in a strategy of genocide. CCTV America’s Liling Tan reported from New York.

More details:

• ISIL isn’t just destroying history according to experts. The group has also tried to profit from the illicit trade in antiquities, looting items and smuggling them abroad, prompting a campaign for a UN ban on the practice. In an ironic twist, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month returned about 65 cultural artifacts to Iraq that had been smuggled into America. Items from that same site rampaged by ISIL, which would have been destroyed had they not been looted.

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Andrew Moore on preserving ancient artifacts from the hands of ISIL

For people who devote their lives to studying and preserving these types of sites, what’s happening at the hands of ISIL is heartbreaking. CCTV America interviewed one such person, Andrew Moore, president of the Archaeological Institute of America.