ISIS warlords have blown up the iconic Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraqi forces have revealed tonight.
The historic religious landmark was where the terror group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi infamously proclaimed a “caliphate” in 2014.
However, on-the-run ISIS claims that US aircraft destroyed the mosque, in a statement issued by its news outlet Amaq.
But those on the ground tell a different story.
“Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 yards of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (ISIS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque, ” said Staff Lt General Abdulamir Yarallah, overall commander of the Mosul offensive.
The mosque, along with its minaret, was one of the most famous buildings in Mosul’s Old City.
The black flag of ISIS had been flying over the leaning minaret since June 2014.
On Wednesday morning, US and British-backed Iraqi forces began a push towards the mosque, having encircled jihadi fighters in the Old City.
An estimated 100,000 civilians were holed up with the last remaining ISIS troops in Mosul, the UN has stated.
As Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops closed in on the mosque, backed by air and ground support from the US-led coalition, ISIS blew it up.
The government announced the full “liberation” of eastern Mosul in January 2017, but the west has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.
Parts of the mosque, including its distinctive leaning minaret, had stood for hundreds of years.
A month after ISIS forces overran Mosul in June 2014, Baghdadi, gave a Friday sermon from the pulpit inside the mosque – his first public appearance in many years.