"Around 100,000 cultural objects of global importance, including 4,500 archaeological sites, nine of which are included in the World Heritage List of ... UNESCO, are under the control of ISIS ... in Syria and Iraq," Ambassador Vitaly Churkin wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council.
"The profit derived by the the so called Islamists from the illicit trade in antiquities and archaeological treasures is estimated at U.S. $150-200 million per year," he said.
The smuggling of artifacts, Churkin wrote, is organized by the so called Islamic State's antiquities division in the group's equivalent of a ministry for natural resources. Only those who have a permit with a stamp from this division are permitted to excavate, remove and transport antiquities; aol reported.
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