( CNN ) During the reopening of the Baghdad Museum on Saturday , Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made one thing clear : The artwork that epitomizes Iraq 's culture and history will not be wiped away by anyone or anything , including ISIS . `` They are trying , with their barbarism and arrogance , to destroy the inheritance of humanity , the inheritance of Iraqi people and their civilization , [ the ] same way they destroyed humans , '' al-Abadi said . `` I want to send clear message from here in Baghdad , that we will preserve this human civilization and its inheritance , and we will pursue those who are trying to destroy it . '' The Prime Minister 's comments came after a video was released by ISIS purporting to show militants smashing and shattering pieces at a museum in Mosul . `` These antiquities and idols behind me were from people in past centuries and were worshiped instead of God , '' one masked man said in the clip . `` When God Almighty orders us to destroy these statues , idols and antiquities , we must do it , even if they 're worth billions of dollars . '' It is n't clear from the video how many artifacts were lost or how many of those destroyed were originals . There 's reason to believe that some pieces were spared , according to Qais Hussain Rashid , the director general of Iraqi museums at the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism . He told CNN that ISIS sells stolen antiquities on the black market to finance their operations . The Prime Minister also mentioned the smuggling reports in his speech on Saturday . He also alleged that ISIS is receiving some sort of assistance in its smuggling operation , though he did not specify any organization in particular . `` We have all the details on all the antiquities in Mosul , every single piece is marked , numbered and saved in our records , '' he said . `` Therefore , we will pursue all these antiquities . '' The Mosul Museum has 173 original pieces , according to Rashid . Also , reports began to surface about a month ago that ISIS militants were burning thousands of books and manuscripts from museums , libraries and universities in Mosul . Those reports amount to `` a new phase in the cultural cleansing '' being perpetrated by the extremist group , UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a news release . If the reports of book burnings are confirmed , the U.N. cultural agency said , `` this would be one of the most devastating acts of destruction of library collections in human history . '' CNN 's Ben Wedeman and Dana Ford contributed to this report .
Iraqi Prime Minister says ISIS is trying to ` ` destroy the inheritance of art '' His comments come after ISIS released a video showing the theft of art and sculptures . ISIS claims the video was shot in Mosul and the pieces are missing .