ABSTRACT
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria has been enthusiastically embracing the same policy and attitude, causing untold damage to ancient art and cultural assets considered by UNESCO as world heritage. Indeed, during 2014-15 the world has watched with horror, ISIS fanatic thugs hammering at ancient works of art in Mosul and other archeological sites in Nimrod in Iraq. ISIS has also killed members of the Shaitat tribe, which fought alongside the Assad regime in Palmyra and had railed against ISIS in Deir Ezzor, a rebellion in which the militant group killed eight hundred members of the tribe. ISIS also controls the vast majority of Raqqa province, its de facto capital, most of Deir Ezzor, parts of Hassakeh and the Aleppo countryside, most of the Syrian desert and parts of the Homs countryside and the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus.
