Witnesses say militants began demolishing ancient ruins at the weekend.
Khorsabad was constructed as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II.
Comes after group razed 3,000-year-old Nimrud and  2,000-year old Hatra.

Write an article based on these highlights.
Iraq's government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Khorsabad in northern Iraq has become the latest to be attacked by Islamic State. Adel Shirshab, the country's tourism and antiquities minister, said there are concerns the militants had removed artefacts and blown up the site, located nine miles north-east of Mosul. Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, said militants had already begun demolishing the Khorsabad site on Sunday, citing multiple witnesses. On Friday, the group razed 3,000-year-old Nimrud and on Saturday, they bulldozed 2,000-year old Hatra - both Unesco world heritage sites. Scroll down for video. The foundations of an ancient palace in the Assyrian city of Khorsabad which has reportedly been looted and destroyed by Islamic State militants near the Iraqi city of Mosul. The sculptured stone slabs that once lined the palace walls at Khorsabad are now displayed in museums around the world including these Assyrian winged bulls now housed in the British Museum in London. Other statues of winged bulls from Khorsabad can be found in the Louvre museum in Paris. UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon has called the destruction a 'war crime'. A statement by his spokesman on Sunday night said Mr Ban was 'outraged by the continuing destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq' by ISIS. Khorsabad was constructed as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II shortly after he came to power in 721BC and abandoned after his death in 705BC. It features a city wall with a stone foundation and seven gates. Since it was a single-era capital, few objects linked to Sargon II himself were found. However, the site is renowned for shedding light on Assyrian art and architecture. The sculptured stone slabs that once lined the palace walls are now displayed in museums in Baghdad, Paris, London and Chicago. ISIS currently controls about a third of Iraq and Syria. Officials in the northern city of Mosul confirmed militants with the terror group have begun destroying the archaeological site of Hatra in northern Iraq. A file photo shows the temple to the Shamash sun god in Hatra. Iraq's minister of tourism and antiquities said the government was also investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in north west Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group. The Sunni extremist group has been campaigning to purge ancient relics they say promote idolatry that violates their fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law. Yesterday, officials officials  reported the jihadists have begun destroying the archaeological site of Hatra in northern Iraq. It comes after fanatics went on a rampage in the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, destroying the 3,000 year-old winged statues placed at the gates of the Palace of Ashurnasirpal. A video released last week also showed them smashing artefacts in the Mosul museum. In January, the group also burned hundreds of books from the Mosul library and Mosul University, including many rare manuscripts. At a press conference earlier yesterday, Mr Shirshab said they have called for an extraordinary session of the UN Security Council to address the crisis in Iraq. 'The world should bear the responsibility and put an end to the atrocities of the militants, otherwise I think the terrorist groups will continue with their violent acts,' he said. ISIS extremists targeted a museum in Mosul using power drills and sledge hammers to destroy artefacts.
Vittnen säger att militanta började riva forntida ruiner i helgen. Khorsabad konstruerades som en ny huvudstad i Assyrien av kung Sargon II. Det kommer efter att grupprasat 3000-åriga Nimrud och 2000-åriga Hatra. Skriv en artikel baserad på dessa höjdpunkter.
Witnesses say militants started tearing down ancient ruins this weekend. Khorsabad was constructed as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II. It comes after group-racing 3000-year-old Nimrud and 2000-year-old Hatra. Write an article based on these highlights.
Iraks regering undersöker rapporter om att den antika arkeologiska platsen Khorsabad i norra Irak har blivit den senaste att attackeras av Islamiska staten. Adel Shirshab, landets turist- och antikvitetsminister, sade att det finns oro militanterna hade tagit bort artefakter och sprängt platsen, som ligger nio mil nordöst om Mosul. Saeed Mamuzini, en kurdisk ämbetsman från Mosul, sade att militanter redan hade börjat riva Khorsabads webbplats på söndagen, med hänvisning till flera vittnen. På fredagen raserade gruppen 3 000-åriga Nimrud och på lördagen bulldodiserade de 2 000-åriga Hatra - båda Unescos världsarv. Scrolla ner för video. Grunderna till ett forntida palats i den assyriska staden Khorsabad som enligt uppgift har plundrats och förstörts av militanta islamiska staten nära den irakiska staden Mosul. De skulpterade stenplattorna som en gång kantade palatsväggarna vid Khorsabad visas nu upp på museer runt om i världen, däribland dessa assyriska bevingade tjurar som nu är inrymda i British Museum i London. Andra statyer av bevingade tjurar från Khorsabad finns i Louvren i Paris. FN:s generalsekreterare Ban Ki Moon har kallat förstörelsen ett "krigsbrott". I ett uttalande av hans talesman i söndags kväll sades det att Ban var ”upprörd av den fortsatta förstörelsen av kulturarvet i Irak” av ISIS. Khorsabad konstruerades som en ny huvudstad i Assyrien av kung Sargon II strax efter att han kom till makten 721 f.Kr. och övergavs efter sin död 705 f.Kr. Den har en stadsmur med en stengrund och sju portar. Eftersom det var en enarmad huvudstad hittades få objekt kopplade till Sargon II själv. Sajten är dock känd för att sprida ljus över assyrisk konst och arkitektur. De skulpterade stenplattorna som en gång kantade palatsväggarna visas nu på museer i Bagdad, Paris, London och Chicago. ISIS kontrollerar för närvarande ungefär en tredjedel av Irak och Syrien. Tjänstemän i den norra staden Mosul bekräftade militanter med terrorgruppen har börjat förstöra den arkeologiska platsen Hatra i norra Irak. Ett filfoto visar templet till Shamash-solguden i Hatra. Iraks minister för turism och antikviteter sade att regeringen också undersökte rapporter om att den antika arkeologiska platsen Hatra i nordvästra Irak håller på att rivas av militanter från gruppen Islamiska staten. Den sunnitiska extremistgruppen har kampanjat för att rensa gamla reliker som de säger främjar avgudadyrkan som bryter mot deras fundamentalistiska tolkning av islamisk lag. I går rapporterade tjänstemän att jihadisterna har börjat förstöra den arkeologiska platsen Hatra i norra Irak. Den kommer efter att fanatiker gått på en framfart i den assyriska staden Nimrud i norra Irak, och förstört de 3 000 år gamla bevingade statyer som placerats vid portarna till Ashurnasirpalpalatset. En video som släpptes förra veckan visade dem också krossa artefakter i Mosul museum. I januari brände gruppen även hundratals böcker från Mosulbiblioteket och Mosuluniversitetet, bland annat många sällsynta manuskript. Vid en presskonferens tidigare i går sade Shirshab att de hade begärt ett extra möte i FN:s säkerhetsråd för att ta itu med krisen i Irak. "Världen bör bära ansvaret och sätta stopp för militanternas grymheter, annars tror jag att terroristgrupperna kommer att fortsätta med sina våldshandlingar", sade han. ISIS extremister riktade sig mot ett museum i Mosul med hjälp av kraftborrmaskiner och slädhammare för att förstöra föremål.
The Iraqi government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Khorsabad in northern Iraq has become the latest to be attacked by the Islamic State. Adel Shirshab, the country's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said there is concern the militants had removed artifacts and blew up the site, which is nine miles northeast of Mosul. Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, said that militants had already begun demolishing Khorsabad's website on Sunday, citing several witnesses. On Friday, the group destroyed 3,000-year-old Nimrud and on Saturday bulldodized the 2,000-year-old Hatra - both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Scroll down for video. The foundations of an ancient palace in the Assyrian city of Khorsabad which has reportedly been looted and destroyed by militant Islamic state near the Iraqi city of Mosul. The sculpted stone plates that once lined the palace walls at Khorsabad are now on display in museums around the world, including these Assyrian winged bulls now housed in the British Museum in London. Other statues of winged bulls from Khorsabad are in the Louvre, Paris. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has called the destruction a "war crime". A statement by his spokesman last Sunday evening said that Ban was 'disturbed by the continued destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq' by ISIS. Khorsabad was constructed as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II shortly after he came to power in 721 BC and was abandoned after his death in 705 BC. It has a city wall with a stone foundation and seven gates. Since it was a one-armed capital, few items linked to Sargon II were found themselves. However, the site is known to shed light on Assyrian art and architecture. The sculpted stone plates that once lined the palace walls are now on display in museums in Baghdad, Paris, London, and Chicago. The ISIS currently controls about one third of Iraq and Syria. Officials in the northern town of Mosul confirmed militants with the terror group have begun destroying the Hatra archaeological site in northern Iraq. A file photo shows the temple to the Shamash sun god in Hatra. The Iraqi Minister for Tourism and Antiquities said that the government was also investigating reports that the ancient Hatra archaeological site in northwestern Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group. The Sunni extremist group has campaigned to clear old relics that they say promote idolatry that violates their fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law. Yesterday officials reported that the jihadists have begun destroying the Hatra archaeological site in northern Iraq. It comes after fanatics went on a rampage in the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, destroying the 3,000-year-old winged statues placed at the gates of the Ashurnasirpal Palace. A video released last week also showed them crushing artifacts in Mosul museum. In January, the group also burned hundreds of books from the Mosul Library and Mosul University, including many rare manuscripts. At a press conference earlier yesterday, Shirshab said that they had requested an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council to address the crisis in Iraq. "The world should bear responsibility and put an end to the atrocities of the militants, otherwise I think the terrorist groups will continue with their acts of violence," he said. ISIS extremists targeted a museum in Mosul using power drills and sled hammers to destroy objects.