Sputnik
Before being decimated in the Middle East, Islamic State jihadists destroyed and pillaged numerous cultural heritage sites in the region and stole ancient treasures to raise funds for the terrorist group's operations. Illicit trade in antiquities is a crime under international law.
Ancient treasures plundered by ISIS terrorists have been revealed as being offered for sale via Facebook by Professor Amr al-Azm at Shawnee State University in Ohio.
Specialising in Middle East history and anthropology, Amr al-Azm told the New York Times that he had spotted at least 90 Facebook communities involved in the illegal trade of artefacts stolen from Middle East heritage sites by the terrorist group.
The expert recognised a bust that he believes had been looted from the ancient city of Palmyra which Daesh terrorists ravaged twice during the conflict in Syria. He also said that relics from Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia have also been offered for sale in these groups.
It's unclear if the items put on sale are genuine.
Facebook has already been in hot water over the sale of ancient treasures on its platform.
Back in 2015, Facebook was forced to disable pages allegedly involved in sale of historical objects pillaged by the Islamic State.
Illegal antiquities trade was one of the biggest sources of revenue for the Daesh terror group when it was active across large swathes of Syria. Since 2015, Syrian government troops, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, have managed to recapture most of the country's territory from ISIS as well as other Islamist militant groups.
