Watch: ISIS militants smash priceless artefacts to pieces in Mosul museum

The Islamic State group released a video on Thursday purportedly showing militants using sledgehammers to smash ancient artifacts in Mosul. The five-minute video shows a group of bearded men in a museum using hammers and drills to destroy several large statues, including one depicting a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity that dates back to the 9th century B.C. The extremist group has destroyed a number of shrines - including Muslim holy sites - in order to eliminate what it views as heresy.The militants are also believed to have sold ancient artifacts on the black market in order to finance their bloody campaign across the region.