Assyrian Teenager Fighting Against ISIS Through Art? Teen Replicates Nimrud's Ruined Artifacts

The militant group Islamic State (IS) released a video in the past showing them destroying not only the artifacts but the ancient city of Nimrud in general and no one was able to save the centuries-old archaeological pieces of art. The 17-year-old Assyrian Christian then decided to fight back to the militants by replicating the ruined artifacts.

The 17-year-old was identified as Nenous Thabit and he said in a statement that the 3,000-year-old city was a source of pride that is why he decided to replicate the destroyed artifacts in Nimrud. He also said that he considers the artifacts in Nimrud to be the work of his ancestors, CNN reported. Thabit added, "They waged a war on art and culture, so I decided to fight them with art."

In the video released by ISIS, it showed the militants using sledgehammers and electric drills in order to destroy the artifacts. The ISIS militants said that destroying Nimrud was part of their campaign, which was to destroy symbols they believe are idolatrous.

Thabit and his family were originally from Mosul but are now in the Kurdish city of Irbil after fleeing from the war zones. Thabit is now sculpting the statues that resembled some of those destroyed in Nimrud in an apartment where he and his family took refuge, Assyrian International News Agency reported.

When asked about what his favorite Nimrud artifact is, Thabit said that Lamassu is his favorite statue. He said that Lamassu is the strongest creature in the Assyrian heritage. Lamassu has a head of a human, the body of a lion, the legs of an ox, and the wings of a vulture. He has made a Lamassu statue replica and said that it took him 15 days to complete it.

As of writing, Thabit has made 18 statues and one mural. He was reportedly trained by his sculptor father, Thabit Michael. Meanwhile, ISIS militants sometimes kill sculptors because they believe that they are apostates.