ISIS blows up world famous Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul

Isis militants have blown up the world famous Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul and the adjacent mosque.

The mosque is where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a rare public appearance the following month and gave a speech proclaiming the creation of a new "caliphate".

The Great Mosque is named after Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, a Turkic ruler of Mosul and Aleppo who ordered its construction in 1172, two years before his death.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.

OneIndia News