By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed

ARBIL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Ultra-radical Islamist militants in northern Iraq have destroyed a priceless collection of statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era, inflicting what an archaeologist described as incalculable damage to a piece of shared human history.

A video published by Islamic State on Thursday showed men attacking the artifacts, some of them identified as antiquities from the 7th century BC, with sledgehammers and drills, saying they were symbols of idolatry.

"The Prophet ordered us to get rid of statues and relics, and his companions did the same when they conquered countries after him," an unidentified man said in the video.

The smashed articles appeared to come from an antiquities museum in Mosul, the northern city which was overrun by Islamic State last June, a former employee at the museum told Reuters.

Islamic State smashes priceless Iraqi artifacts

A clip shows men using sledgehammers to attack statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era.
'The Prophet ordered us'

The elusive graffiti artist Banksy has reemerged among Palestinian ruins to give his instantly recognizable stenciling style a meaningful backdrop.

A politically charged travelogue of a war-ravaged neighborhood appeared on his YouTube channel late Wednesday with the title "Make this the year YOU discover a new destination.”

The footage shows Palestinian civilians standing among the devastation of war as darkly satirical captions appear.

“The locals like it so much they never leave (Because they’re not allowed to),” one reads.

Another says, “Nestled in an exclusive setting (Surrounded by a wall on three sides and a line of gun boats on the other).”

Banksy’s artwork shows children playing on swings around a dark watchtower and, on another wall, a large kitten.

When a local asked Banksy what the cat means, he explained that he wants to highlight the destruction in Gaza with photos on his website, but that people look at images of kittens only on the Internet.

One stencil shows a person — who resembles the character of Niobe from Greek myth — crying on the last standing piece of a building that had been bombed.

Sally @BanksysTeddy Follow New #Banksy of the mythical Greek character, Niobe, weeping. (Photos: Imgarcade.com & Banksy's Instagram)http:// 8:13 AM - 25 Feb 2015 19 RETWEETS 9 FAVORITES

The gods Apollo and Artemis killed Niobe’s six sons and six daughters after she boasted about having more children than the Titan Leto, who only had two, according to Homer’s “Iliad.”

For this reason, Niobe typically symbolizes bereaved mothers.

Toward the end of the video, the following sentence is shown written on a wall: “If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful — we don’t remain neutral.”

The artist’s publicist released a written statement to Yahoo News indicating that Banksy is not necessarily choosing sides but says the war-ravaged environment is a breeding ground for terrorism.

“I don't want to take sides,” Banksy said. “But when you see entire suburban neighbourhoods reduced to rubble with no hope of a future — what you’re really looking at is a vast outdoor recruitment centre for terrorists. And we should probably address this for all our sakes.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a highly controversial, polarizing topic for many people. In July 2014, the Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, a designated terrorist group.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 2,131 Palestinians were killed, including 1,473 civilians. This figure includes 501 children and 257 women.

During this time, 71 Israelis were killed, 66 of whom were soldiers. The others were four civilians and a security coordinator, according to a U.N. report.

WABC – NY
3 Brooklyn residents charged with plotting to help ISIS

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men arrested on charges of plotting to help the Islamic State group were vocal both online and in person about their commitment and desire to join the extremists, with one speaking of shooting President Barack Obama to "strike fear in the hearts of infidels," federal authorities said.

The men were among three charged Wednesday with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, was arrested at Kennedy Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, with plans to head to Syria, authorities said. Another man, 24-year-old Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, had a ticket to travel to Istanbul next month and was arrested in Brooklyn, federal prosecutors said. The two were held without bail after a brief court appearance.

A third defendant, Abror Habibov, 30, is accused of helping fund Saidakhmetov's efforts. He was ordered held without bail in Florida.

If convicted, each faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.

On Thursday, Michael Steinbach, the FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, told a House committee the case was an example of "what the threat looks like."

View gallery

In this courtroom drawing, defendant Akhror Saidakmetov, left; an interpreter, center; and defendant …

In some cases, individuals pursue an "intellectual curiosity" online that leads them to become radicalized or are already radicalized once they turn to the Internet.

Officials are also encountering those who, like the three charged Wednesday in New York, feel thwarted in their efforts to travel overseas and discuss attacks against the U.S. instead.

"We're seeing that play more and more often," Steinbach said.

Authorities said Juraboev first came to the attention of law enforcement in August, when he posted on an Uzbek-language website that propagates the Islamic State ideology.

"Greetings! We too want to pledge our allegiance and commit ourselves while not present there," he wrote, according to federal authorities. "Is it possible to commit ourselves as dedicated martyrs anyway while here?"

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A Homeland Security police officer, left, joins a Federal Court policeman, right, as security is enh …

"What I'm saying is, to shoot Obama and then get shot ourselves, will it do? That will strike fear in the hearts of infidels."

Juraboev was visited by federal law enforcement officials and told officials he wanted to express support for the Islamic State group. He mentioned Saidakhmetov as a friend and sympathizer, officials said.

Juraboev worked slicing lettuce at a Brooklyn gyro restaurant and earned about $500 a week, said Gyro King owner, Zakarya Khan. Juraboev had told his boss Thursday would be his last day of work because he planned to visit family in his native Uzbekistan, Khan said.

"I used to respect him and I used to take care of him," Khan said Thursday. "If I would have noticed even one statement from him saying something about America or something about a jihad or fighting, I would have definitely had a very good conversation with him, but he never mentioned anything at all."

Khan said he was shocked to hear about Juraboev's arrest but was "even more shocked" to hear that Saidakhmetov had been tied to the plot.

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New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton, right, and Diego Rodriguez, assistant direc …

"He sometimes used to come here," Khan said. "He was a young kid, very innocent, with a very innocent face."

According to the federal complaint, Saidakhmetov said he intended to shoot police officers and FBI agents if his plan to join the IS group in Syria was thwarted.

But Saidakhmetov's mother took away his passport to prevent him from traveling, according to the complaint. When he called and asked for it back, she asked where he wanted to go and he said that a person who had the chance to join the Islamic State group and didn't would face divine judgment. She hung up on him.

Saidakhmetov's attorney, Adam Perlmutter, said his client would plead not guilty.

"This is the type of case that highlights everything that is wrong with how the Justice Department approaches these cases," Perlmutter said. Juraboev's attorney had no immediate comment.

Habibov worked with Saidakhmetov and helped him get travel documents and a plane ticket, federal officials said.

Habibov, who had lived in Brooklyn, moved a few years ago and fell out of contact with the borough's Uzbek community, said Farhod Sulton, president of the Brooklyn-based Vatandosh Uzbek-American Federation.

He had stopped coming to Uzbek gatherings, Sulton said, and was reading extremist literature. "We had a tense conversation about the ultra-orthodox understanding of Islam. I think he got into the wrong hands in terms of learning Islam."

Saidakhmetov is a Brooklyn resident and citizen of Kazakhstan. Habibov had been in the U.S. legally, but his visa had expired. He was appointed a public defender Wednesday.

The Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of Saidakhmetov's arrest. It said he was born in southern Kazakhstan, left for Uzbekistan in October 2011 and hadn't returned.

___

Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Deepti Hajela in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Federal prosecutors say Abdurasul Juraboev wrote about his plans for the president on Uzbek-language website.
Attack on Coney Island

A top counterterrorism official offers a blunt assessment of efforts to stop the radical group.
Most complex threat since 9/11

A day after the governor of Rio, Luiz Fernando Bigfoot, say that the clean-up program of Guanabara Bay for the 2016 Olympics reached 49%, images showed hundreds of dead fish in the region on Tuesday (24).

In press on Monday (23), Bigfoot also said it will rely on the understanding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who is in town this week for meetings with municipal and state governments, if the target of 80% of the pollution is not attained.

According Bigfoot, the question of Guanabara Bay, which will receive the sailing events of the Olympic Games should not shake the list of authorities with the IOC.

According to the State of the Environment (INEA), technicians found the presence of dead yellowtail in Fundão Canal. Water samples were collected and the results should be out in seven days.

Guanabara Bay dawned with dead fish (Photo: Ricardo Moraes / Reuters)

Dead fish in Guanabara Bay (Photo: Ricardo Moraes / Reuters)