--- description: St. Elijah's Monastery joins an expanding list of holy sites targeted by ISIS. title: Satellite Photos Show ISIS Destruction of Iraqi Holy Site image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d379cf8109a28d0/698879d25f570fe88eb1f43a/iraq-monastery-facebook.jpg?branch=production ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iraq](/tag/iraq/) ## Iraq Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'There's Nothing to Rebuild': Satellite Photos Show ISIS Destruction of Iraqi Holy Site  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2016 3:36 PM CUT  This combination of two satellite images, taken on March 31, 2011, and Sept. 28, 2014, shows the site of the 1,400-year-old Christian monastery known as St. Elijah's on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq. This combination of two satellite images, taken on March 31, 2011, and Sept. 28, 2014, shows the site of the 1,400-year-old Christian monastery known as St. Elijah's on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq.DigitalGlobe/AP  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2016 3:36 PM CUT Among the latest victims of [ISIS](http://time.com/4119974/beating-isis/ "undefined"), the militant group known as much for its brutal killings as its propaganda, [is a 1,400-year-old Christian monastery in Iraq.](http://time.com/4186469/isis-christian-monastery-iraq/ "undefined") An aerial image captured by a DigitalGlobe satellite, at the request of the Associated Press, [confirmed](http://time.com/4186469/isis-christian-monastery-iraq "undefined") that the St. Elijah’s Monastery, located on a hill above Mosul, now lies in rubble. An analyst who looked at images for AP estimated that ISIS decimated it between Aug. 27 and Sept. 28, 2014, months after [the militants staged a lightning offensive through northern Iraq](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/insurgents-seize-iraqi-city-of-mosul-as-troops-flee/2014/06/10/21061e87-8fcd-4ed3-bc94-0e309af0a674%5Fstory.html "undefined"). “There’s nothing to rebuild,” said Stephen Wood, CEO of Allsource Analysis.’ ### See ISIS’s Destruction of the Ancient City Palmyra  This undated photo released on Aug. 25, 2015 on a social media site used by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants shows smoke from the detonation of the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in the ancient caravan city of Palmyra, Syria. AP  This undated photo released on Aug. 25, 2015 on a social media site used by ISIS militants shows militants laying explosives in the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, Syria. AP  This undated photo released on Aug. 25, 2015 on a social media site used by ISIS militants, shows the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, Syria, rigged with explosives. AP  This undated photo released on Aug. 25, 2015 on a social media site used by ISIS militants shows the demolished 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, Syria. AP The monastery, known as Dair Mar Elia, joins [a grim and expanding list of holy sites targeted by ISIS](http://time.com/4065290/syria-cultural-heritage/ "undefined"), including [an ancient temple in Palmyra, Syria.](http://time.com/4060899/syria-palmyra-isis-arch-of-triumph/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4186618/isis-iraq-st-elijahs-monastery-destroyed-mosul-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4186618/isis-iraq-st-elijahs-monastery-destroyed-mosul-photos/"},"headline":"'There's Nothing to Rebuild': Satellite Photos Show ISIS Destruction of Iraqi Holy Site","datePublished":"2016-01-20T15:36:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:34.669Z","description":"St. Elijah's Monastery is the latest religious site targeted by ISIS","url":"https://time.com/4186618/isis-iraq-st-elijahs-monastery-destroyed-mosul-photos/","keywords":["Iraq","one-pic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d379cf8109a28d0/698879d25f570fe88eb1f43a/iraq-monastery-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Katz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/andrew-katz/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d379cf8109a28d0/698879d25f570fe88eb1f43a/iraq-monastery-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"iraq-monastery-facebook","caption":"","creditText":"DigitalGlobe/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iraq/","name":"Iraq"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4186618/isis-iraq-st-elijahs-monastery-destroyed-mosul-photos/","name":"'There's Nothing to Rebuild': Satellite Photos Show ISIS Destruction of Iraqi Holy Site"}}]}] ```