File photo of a UN peacekeeper from Burkina Faso guarding the Djinguereber mosque, built in the 14th century, during a visit by a UN delegation on election day in Timbuktu, Mali. Reuters/Joe Penney/Files
Paris: From Mali to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, Islamist fighters have targeted priceless cultural heritage sites for destruction after denouncing them as un-Islamic.
Malian jihadist Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is to be sentenced Tuesday at the International Criminal Court after pleading guilty to the war crime of destroying shrines at the UNESCO world heritage site in Timbuktu.
Here are some major world cultural sites destroyed or damaged during recent conflicts.
- Mali -
The fabled desert city of Timbuktu, dubbed the "City of 333 saints" and designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site, was attacked for months by jihadists bent on imposing a brutal version of Islamic law.
In June 2012, Al-Qaeda-linked militants destroyed 14 of the northern city's mausoleums, major structures that date back to Timbuktu's golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries when it was an economic, intellectual and spiritual hub.
The reconstruction of the shrines began in March 2014, relying heavily on traditional methods and employing local masons. Several countries and organisations financed the reconstruction, including UNESCO.
On September 19 the doors of a revered 15th-century mosque hacked apart by jihadists were unveiled after being restored to their former glory.
- Syria -
More than 900 monuments or archeological sites have been looted, damaged or destroyed by the regime, rebels or jihadists in Syria, where war has raged since 2011, according to APSA, the association charged with protecting Syrian architecture.
In September 2015, Islamic State (IS) fighters destroyed two of the most important temples in the UNESCO-listed Syrian city of Palmyra as they pursued a campaign to wipe out some of the Middle East's most important heritage sites.
They include the ancient city's most famed shrine, the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, blown up a week after the destruction of the temple of Baal Shamin.
Other notable sites damaged or looted include Dura-Europos in eastern Syria, once known as the "Pompeii of the desert", Apamea, Ebla and Tal Ajaja.
However, the IS group is not alone in ravaging Syria's heritage, with all sides looting and destroying ancient sites.
"Two thirds of the ancient city of Aleppo have been bombarded and set on fire," according to UNESCO.
- Iraq -
IS has carried out a campaign of "cultural cleansing", razing many ancient Mesopotamian relics and looting others to sell on the black market.
In a video released by IS on February 26, 2015 militants were shown smashing pre-Islamic treasures in a museum in Mosul, sparking global outrage.
Thousands of books and rare manuscripts were also burned in Mosul's main library.
According to the Iraqi government, on March 5, 2015, IS militants used bulldozers and explosives to destroy Nimrud, an ancient Assyrian city south of Mosul.
They also attacked Hatra, a Roman-period site, in the northern Niniveh province.
- Libya -
Several mausoleums have been destroyed by Islamist extremists since Moamer Kadhafi was overthrown in 2011.
In August 2012, hardliners bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital.
That demolition came a day after others blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar in the western city of Zliten.
In 2013 suspected Islamic extremists attacked the centuries-old mausoleum of Murad Agha in Tripoli, but did not reach the tomb inside.
- Afghanistan -
In March 2001, Taliban leader Mullah Omar ordered the destruction of two 1,500-year-old Buddha statues in the eastern town of Bamiyan because they were deemed anti-Islamic.
Hundreds of Taliban militants from across the country spent weeks demolishing the gigantic statues, which were carved into the side of a cliff.
In 2003 the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley were added to UNESCO'S world heritage list.
