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Baghdad Islamic State militants "bulldozed" the renowned archaeological site of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq on Thursday using heavy military vehicles, the government said.

A statement from Iraq's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities didn't elaborate on the extent of the damage, saying only that the group continues to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity" with this latest act, which came after an attack on the Mosul museum just days earlier.

The destruction of the site of one of ancient Mesopotamia's greatest cities recalled the Taliban's annihilation of large Buddha statues in Afghanistan more than a dozen years ago, experts said.

Nimrud was the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that began in about 900 B.C., partially in present-day Iraq, and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by the Islamic State group in June.

The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud's royal tombs was one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. After Iraq was invaded in 2003, archaeologists were relieved when they were found hidden in the country's central Bank in a secret vault-inside-a-vault submerged in sewage water.

The Islamic State extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming that they promote apostasy. Earlier this week a video emerged on militant websites showing Islamic State militants with sledgehammers destroying ancient artifacts at the Mosul museum, sparking global outrage.

Last year, the militants destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Younis or Jonah and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul. They also threatened to destroy Mosul's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.

Iraq's national museum in Baghdad opened its doors to the public last week for the first time in 12 years in a move Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said was to defy efforts "to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilization."

The Islamic State group has imposed a harsh and violent version of Islamic law in the territories it controls and has terrorized religious minorities. It has released gruesome videos online showing the beheading of captives, including captured Western journalists and aid workers.

A US-led coalition has been striking the group since August, and Iraqi forces launched an offensive this week to try to retake the militant-held city of Tikrit, on the main road linking Baghdad to Mosul.

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Iraq says Islamic State militants 'bulldozed' ancient site (+video)

BAGHDAD Signs of strain have emerged recently between the United States and Iraq over the timetable and military components of a campaign to retake major population centers occupied by the Islamic State.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter told Congress this week that the U.S. Central Command was inaccurate when it told reporters recently that an offensive in Mosul could begin as early as April. But that timeline had already provoked a retort from Carters Iraqi counterpart, who said the United States was not familiar with Iraqs battle plan for the northwestern city.

Speaking at a news conference late last month, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said that Baghdad would determine the timing for the Mosul offensive.

Other officials here cite a raft of challenges that could delay or complicate offensives in Mosul and elsewhere, including the capacity of Iraqi government forces to hold recaptured territory and ongoing problems coordinating with Kurdish forces, called the peshmerga.

Perhaps most worrying are growing sensitivities about the role played by Iranian-backed Shiite militias in government offensives being carried out in mainly Sunni areas. A key test is the campaign to retake the majority-Sunni city of Tikrit, 125miles south of Mosul, from the Islamic State.

There are concerns that that battle will turn into a bloody war of attrition. Just a fraction of at least 10,000 pro-government fighters massing around Tikrit are from the official armed forces, highlighting the militarys reliance on militias and volunteers as the United States and other coalition partners seek to rebuild and retrain Iraqs security forces.

[View: The military assault on Tikrit, Iraq, in pictures]

Secretary of State John F. Kerry acknowledged Wednesday that Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps elite Quds Force, was on the ground and playing a role in the Tikrit operation, although he insisted that the Iraqi government was in charge and that the need for the militias was only temporary.

As the Iraqi army stands up more and more, militias and external actors are going to be less and less imperative and needed, Kerry said, speaking at a news conference in Riyadh on Thursday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. But thats not where they are, he said of the Iraqi army forces in Tikrit.

For now, Kerry said of Iranian and militia participation, we take it the way it is.

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Iraq officials cast doubt on prospects for an early offensive to retake Mosul

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