Destruction of cultural heritage by the Islamic State

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History of the Islamic State
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (1999–2004) Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006) Jama'at Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah (2004–2006) Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah (2004–2006) Mujahideen Shura Council (2006) Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2013) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–2014) Islamic State (2014–present)
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Deliberate destruction and theft of cultural heritage have been conducted by the Islamic State (IS) since 2014 in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya. The destruction targets various places of worship under IS control and ancient historical artifacts. In Iraq, between the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and February 2015, IS had plundered and destroyed at least 28 historical religious buildings.^[1] Valuable items from some buildings were looted in order to smuggle and sell them to foreigners to finance the running of the Islamic State.^[1]