Scars of looting, destruction all that remain at Mosul museum

A view of a destroyed museum, where Islamic State militants filmed themselves destroying priceless statues and sculptures in 2015, during a battle against the militants in Mosul, Iraq, March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - After two and a half years under Islamic State control, all that is left in Mosul's museum are the traces of looting and destruction.

Inside the rubble-strewn building, where militants filmed themselves destroying ancient artefacts, the large stone wing of a statue of lamassu -- an Assyrian winged bull deity -- lies on the dusty floor among other broken remnants of the past.