Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed to track down and punish those who were behind the smashing of rare ancient artifacts in the country's northern city of Mosul.
Al-Abadi spoke at a ceremony to mark the much-delayed re-opening of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad.
"Those barbaric, criminal terrorists are trying to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilization. We will chase them in order to make them pay for every drop of blood shed in Iraq and for the destruction of Iraq's civilization."
The opening was reportedly brought forward in response to the destruction of the artifacts in Mosul by militants of the Islamic State group.
On Thursday, the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing militants using sledgehammers to smash several large statues, including one depicting a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity that dates back to the 9th century B.C.
