ISIS 'plan to destroy the walls of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire and one of the most important archaeological sites in Iraq'

• The walls of Nineveh, near the city of Mosul, date back nearly 3,000 years
• Islamic State militants say they will destroy them if the Iraqi army attacks
• The mainly Christian Assyrian ethnic group has suffered greatly under IS

By Damien Gayle for MailOnline

Published: 09:03 EST, 7 January 2015 | Updated: 10:15 EST, 7 January 2015

The so-called Islamic State group is threatening to destroy the walls of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire, in what would be its latest act of cultural vandalism.

People living in the Bab Nergal area of Mosul, close to the historic site of Nineveh, said militants told them they would destroy the walls if the Iraqi army attacked, a report claims.

Nineveh was once the largest city in the world, with a population of as many as 150,000 people in 700BC. Although it now lies ruins, it is still surrounded by a mostly intact 7.5-mile brick rampart.

Ancient: Ruins at the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, which Islamic State militants have vowed to destroy when the Iraqi army comes to try to liberate Mosul, Iraq's second largest city

The Islamic State threat to destroy what remains of the historic site, reported by the Assyrian International News Agency (AINSA), comes amid a campaign of cultural vandalism by the group.

Recruitment to the militants' ranks have been fuelled by ongoing sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Iraq, and the group has targeted a number of Shiite shrines in areas it controls.

Over the past month the Islamic State has seized hundreds of Assyrian relics from Mosul's cultural museum as well as destroyed Assyrian monuments in the city, which it claims 'distort Islam', AINSA reported.

Assyrians believe themselves to be Iraq's original indigenous people, with a documented history stretching back to 4750BC. They now comprise 95 per cent of the country's Christian population.

Nearly 200,000 were forced to flee their homes around the Nineveh plain last summer as Islamic State made its lightning advance across Iraq.

Most now live as refugees in Iraq's Kurdish areas.

Islamic State militants in Iraq's Nineveh province: Nearly 200,000 Assyrian Christians were forced to flee their homes around the Nineveh plain last summer as Islamic State made its lightning advance across Iraq

Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi highlighed the importance of Mosul as he yesterday vowed the Iraqi army would soon retake the lands they lost in northern Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces.

'We will liberate it with the hard efforts of our armed forces, volunteers and with the aid of our allies,' he said.

Mosul is the largest city under Islamic State control. Last week British hostage John Cantlie appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video in which he gave a tour of the city.

In the bizarre documentary-style video, Mr Cantlie visits a souk (market place), a hospital and a police station in a bid to paint life in the bomb-hit city as stable.

He is also seen driving a car and a police motorcycle during the eight-minute clip, which emerged on YouTube.