A Christian teenage boy from Iraq is fighting the terror group Islamic State (ISIS) in a different way: by replicating the ancient artworks destroyed by the militants.
Nenous Thabit, 17, an Assyrian Christian from the Kurdish city of Erbil, has been picking up the shattered pieces of artefacts left by the ISIS and is trying to recreate them using his talent in sculpture.
Thabit only considered sculpting as a hobby a few years back. However, when he saw how ISIS militants used sledgehammers and electric drills to obliterate centuries-old archaeological gems, the Christian teenager made it his personal mission to preserve these artworks.
"They waged a war on art and culture, so I decided to fight them with art," Thabit told CNN.
He added that his art is also his way of standing up against the extremist group.
"In Iraq, there are people who are killed because they are sculptors; because they are artists. ISIS views them as apostate," the Christian boy said. "So continuing to sculpt is a message that we will not be intimidated by those devils."
Thabit was trained by his father over the past year to improve on his craft. So far, the teenager has sculpted 18 Assyrian statues and one mural, which he all created inside their modest apartment.
Among his artworks are recreations of the pillars where the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history, was written. He also likes sculpting statues of Lamassu, an Assyrian deity.
"Lamassu is my favourite statue," Thabit explained. "It is the strongest creature in the Assyrian heritage. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion, the legs of an ox and the wings of a vulture."
The Christian teenager is also determined to further improve on his chosen craft. Next year, he is planning to attend an art school in the Kurdish city of Dohuk.
"My dream is to become a prominent artist in Iraq to make my country proud and show the world that we in Iraq love life and cherish our heritage," he shared.
