Images show ISIS desecrating church in Iraq

Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have desecrated a church in the northern city of Mosul, once the home of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, images of the vandalism show.

See also: ISIS burns 1,800-year-old church in Mosul

See also: ISIS destroys shrines, Shiite mosques in Iraq

The pictures show members of the militant group, who last year prompted an exodus of Iraqi Christians from the city, vandalizing the historic Mar Korkis Church.

In the images, the militants destroy crosses at the front of the buildings, replacing them with ISIS’ black flag, as well as other objects of religious or historical significance such as paintings and statues.

The images could not be independently verified by Al Arabiya News.

It is not the first time that the group has targeted religious buildings in and around the historic northern Iraqi city. Last year, the group set fire to a 1,800-year-old church and demolished mosques as well as shrines to Sunni Arab or Sufi figures.

ISIS-led militants overran Mosul and other parts of Iraq last June.

The city, home to 2 million residents before the offensive, was a Middle East trading hub for centuries, its name translating loosely as “the junction.”