Iraqi forces capture historic al-Nuri Mosque
The destruction of the mosque and its famous leaning minaret was seen by some as an admission of defeat by the Islamic State.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iraqi forces on Thursday captured the historic al-Nuri Mosque which was tragically destroyed by Islamic State (IS) militants on June 21 as forces closed in.
According to an Iraqi military statement, troops reached the landmark and liberated the nearby Sargakhana neighborhood.
The forces also rescued civilians being used as human shields in the al-Jamhuri hospital, north of the mosque.
The demolished mosque in the heart of the Old City of Mosul was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a rare public appearance in early July 2014.
At the time, Baghdadi had given a speech proclaiming the creation of a new self-styled “caliphate,” only weeks after his fighters seized control of the city.
Recapturing the al-Nuri Mosque is a significant and symbolic victory for the Iraqi forces which have already suggested the defeat of IS in Mosul was fast approaching.
The ongoing battle to retake Mosul from the extremist group has stretched for nine months.
The city served as the militant group’s de facto capital in Iraq for nearly three years.
The destruction of the mosque and its famous leaning minaret was seen by some as an admission of defeat, as the group’s black flag had been floating there since June 2014.
“During the progress of the Counter-Terrorism Units and their decisive victory against IS gangs in Mosul’s Old City, when they reached a distance of 50 meters, IS terrorists blew up the al-Nuri mosque and historical Hadba minaret,” commander of the Mosul Operation Command, Lieutenant-General Abdul-Ameer Yaralla said on June 21.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
