The struggle to save Iraq archaeological sites after ISIL battles

Many of Iraq’s most important archaeological sites lie in ruins after the battle against ISIL.

During their occupation of Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) deliberately destroyed and looted much of the country’s rich archaeological history.

Now, conservation and security experts from Iraq and the European Union are trying to save what is left and to build a database to track down and return stolen artefacts to Iraq.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports from Baghdad.

By Charles Stratford