Iraq: Five bombs planted by ISIS uncovered in Mosul mosque

Al Nuri Mosque

During renovations in Mosul’s Al-Nuri Mosque, United Nations personnel uncovered five bombs in a wall of the iconic building on June 25th. The five “large-scale explosive devices” were to cause “massive destruction” to the site according to the UNESCO team carrying out restoration of the mosque, the Arab News agency reported.

A representative of the organisation responsible for securing world heritage sites stated that the explosives were planted years ago by ISIS militants. The 12th century mosque has previously sustained damage  from Daesh fighters during the Battle of Mosul in 2017. The mosque had lost the famous leaning minaret nicknamed Al-Hadba or the “hunchback” during the retreat of Islamic State fighters from Mosul.

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UNESCO had received over $5 million to restore the historically important site and other architectural heritage in the city which was obliterated during the battle to retake the city in 2017.

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The cultural agency reported that the “Iraqi armed forces immediately secured the area, and the situation is now fully under control”. Bomb disposal personnel were only able to remove one bomb with four others remaining linked together. They are soon to be cleared stated the agency.

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The organisation explained that the reason why the explosives were discovered long after Iraqi forces had retaken the site in 2020 was due to a wall that was “specially rebuilt around them” to keep conceal them.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader and founder of Daesh, announced the establishment of a “caliphate” from Al-Nusri Mosque in July 2014. Al-Baghdadi promised that the black flag of the Islamic State which had been flying over the 45-meter minaret would never be lowered. Consequently, the structure was destroyed once ISIS was forced to retreat from Mosul.

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Islamic State fighters occupied a large extent of eastern Syria and northern Iraq, ruling with extreme brutality. Daesh was driven out by Mosul in 2017 by Iraqi forces supported by a US-led coalition.

Arab News and agencies

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