Over the past year, Islamic State (ISIS) militants have embarked on an unstoppable rampage of destruction of some of the greatest ancient sites in the world.  Most recently, the terrorist organization destroyed a Baalshamin temple in Palmyra, Syria—just weeks after publicly beheading Professor Khaled al-Assaad, the archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra's ruins for four decades.  Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement the destruction of the temple was “a new war crime” that “reveals the true intent of such attacks, which is to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history.”

In the wake of this destruction, reports emerged warning that ISIS is selling looted antiquities.  Just last week, the FBI alerted US art collectors and dealers that artifacts plundered by ISIS have now entered the marketplace.  “We now have credible reports that US persons have been offered cultural property that appears to have been removed from Syria and Iraq recently,” said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, manager of the FBI’s Art Theft Program.

The one-page flyer issued by the FBI asks US art and antiquities market leaders to spread the word that preventing illegally obtained artifacts from reaching the market may help prevent the financing of Islamist militants through the sale of plundered artifacts.  In particular, the flyer urged due diligence in purchasing any antiquities from the region, paying special attention to an object’s origin.

Read more: Homeland Security Today