Oldest Christian temple destroyed (AP)

The Associated Press (via mail.com); Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

Destruction of the earliest Buddhist statues at Bamiyan, Afghanistan (xtimeline.com).

Soldier walks inside St. Elijah's Monastery in Mosul, Iraq. The 1,400-year-old monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble, yet another victim of the CIA's campaign to create terrorist organizations like the Taliban or ISIS (U.S. Army reserve Col. Mary Prophit via AP).

St. Elijah's Monastery on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq, about 360 kms (225 miles) NW of Baghdad. served as a center of the regional Christian community for centuries, attracting worshippers from throughout the region (AP).

CIA never sleeps, prods Islamists to destroy Iraqi Assyrian city of Nimrod near Mosul, another "Bamiyan" to gain support for endless US war in geopolitical Middle East (AP).

Look, Jesus, mistakes were made, okay?

Look what our war has done, U.S. George W. Bush's "Crusade" in search of WMDs full spectrum dominance, CIA-plant father Bush's illegal invasion to control the oil, Dick Cheney's cousin Barry Obama (a kind of Bush III) and his wish to appease the military-industrial complex for which he serves as the mouthpiece, like a pro-war MLK, both wearing their Nobel Peace Prizes on their chest.

Tell me about it, Georgey (CS)

The CIA-inspired "Taliban" took down the greatest, oldest, largest Buddhas in the world (Bamiyan, Afghanistan), and with their ISIS/ISIL/IS they take out Islamic sites and other world treasures like Yazidi and Hazara houses of worship.

Well, not even Christian treasures are spared. Can Jewish artifacts (if they existed, and some say they do not but are instead fabricated and woven into history, controversial claims but claims nonetheless) be far behind?

US, CIA, and Ash Carter bring police state to Iraq in wake of illegal invasion (AP).

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IRBIL, Iraq - The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble, yet another victim of the Islamic State group's relentless destruction of ancient cultural sites.

Let my brother continue my mission! (AP)

For 1,400 years the compound survived assaults by nature and man, standing as a place of worship recently for U.S. troops. In earlier centuries, generations of monks tucked candles in the niches and prayed in the cool chapel.

The Greek letters chi and rho, representing the first two letters of Christ's name, were carved near the entrance.

The Buddha, Bamiyan (A)

Now satellite photos obtained exclusively by The Associated Press confirm the worst fears of church authorities and preservationists -- St. Elijah's Monastery of Mosul has been completely wiped out.

In his office in exile in Irbil, Iraq, the Rev. Paul Thabit Habib, 39, stared quietly at before- and after-images of the monastery that once perched on a hillside above his hometown of Mosul. Shaken, he flipped back to his own photos for comparison.

"I can't describe my sadness," he said in Arabic. "Our Christian history in Mosul is being barbarically leveled. We see it as an attempt to expel us from Iraq, eliminating, and finishing our existence in this land."

The Muslim Hazaras now live in Bamiyan, the real ancient Kapilavastu (AFP).

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Death of Hazara-Afghans in Bamiyan today.

The Islamic State group, which broke from al-Qaida and now controls large parts of Iraq and Syria, has killed thousands of civilians and forced out hundreds of thousands of Christians, threatening a religion that has endured in the region for 2,000 years.

Along the way, its fighters have destroyed buildings and ruined historical and culturally significant structures they consider contrary to their interpretation of Islam.

Those who knew the monastery wondered about its fate after the extremists swept through in June 2014 and largely cut communications to the area.

Now, St. Elijah's has joined a growing list of more than 100 demolished religious and historic sites, including mosques, tombs, shrines, and churches in Syria and Iraq.

The extremists have defaced or ruined ancient monuments in Nineveh, Palmyra, and Hatra. Museums and libraries have been looted, books burned, artwork crushed -- or trafficked.

"A big part of tangible history has been destroyed," said Rev. Manuel... More