cnn, london. a little later today, the united states will repatriate more than 60 artifacts that were struggled out of iraq. this comes at a time when isis is destroying centuries old antiquities. cnn s national correspondent, ben meade weed man went to the ancient city of ben wedeman, went to the ancient city of babylon to see why this is personal. reporter: the city of babylon has seen empires come and empires go. built, destroyed, rebuilt, and ransacked time and time again. it dates back almost 4,500 years and remain a symbol of themosopotamia.
people. it reminds me of david car he shall. they were killing everyone with glasses because they were going to create a paradise for peasant farmers. that s honestly a farrah nalg towards the islamic state. i do think this behavior these stories is going to backfire on them not just in the west but in the region as ben showed in the story. people are troud of their history and they re destroying it. it has a deep personal resonance. you think about the statues when you see the videos posts of them smashing the statues, precious artifacts. he goes through this city of babylon. it s something we haven t seen before from a group to do this. i think they re gamble they will attract more demented people who believe these things like jihadi john. it might help them in recruitment. it will backfire on them.
in the attacks. pakistan s prime minister condemned the bombings. the pakistani taliban has claimed responsible. the u.s. is planning to return more than 0 artifacts smug 0 artifacts smuggled out of iraq. the operation helps in washington and comes at a time that isis is destroying centuries old antic wits in iraq. ben wedeman with the story. reporter: the city of babylon has seen empires come and empires go. built, destroyed, rebuilt, and ransacked time and time again. it dates back almost 4,500 years and remain a symbol of the glory
isis has smashed precious price less ancient statues in mosul, dynamited centuries-old churches and mosques and shrines. isis militants destroying crosses in the province. even the tomb of saddam hussein isn t safe. over control of tikrit, it was squashed to rubble though it s not clear which side did it. so far, the ancient city of babylon has been out of their grasp. here s correspondent ben wedeman with more on that. the city of babylon has seen empires come and empires go.
end up with a shiite country, a s u.n. ni country and kurdih country, and they will say what the hell did we spend a trillion dollars on. jenna: as you mention with -d troops sometimes it s good to engage them in conversation. i find we caulk around them and we seldom talk with them. reporter: that is probably true. i always say i m a private, i d lick to talk to the enlisted officers. the nco s run the military. the generals once in a while have some insight but i d take a master sergeant any day. jenna: you said eleven times there. reporter: eleven saoeupls iraq. jenna: we ll see where the story goes. reporter: i hope that is my last time. i m not going to go touring in the biblical city of babylon any time soon. jenna: that s what he says now. we ll save the tape. thank you. jon: a brand-new poll out and a new gop presidential candidate leads in the key election state of iowa. who is at the top of the pack now? my name s jeff.