ISIS Sells Antiquities on eBay: While ISIS made headlines for annihilating ancient Assyrian statues in Mosul and Nineveh earlier this year, it has also been quietly selling pilfered antiques to raise funds for the self-declared caliphate.
Online sites like eBay, Facebook, and Whatsapp are serving as the platforms for this estimated $300 million market. “Demand from western collectors is very high,” said Dr. Mark Altaweel of University College London.
“There’s also a specific requirement for pre-Islamic art.” In the US earlier this month, the House of Representatives adopted a bill trying to curb stolen antiques from Syria reaching native soil, and the United Nations Security Council has banned the selling of antiques from Syria and Iraq.
