Islamic State terrorists destroyed an 845-year-old mosque

The terrorist group Islamic State destroyed the Great Al-Nuri Mosque and its minaret in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the Iraqi army announced, reports Patria agency. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stated that this practically means an admission of defeat for the Islamic State, as it was in this very mosque three years ago that the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the Islamic State and himself as its caliph.

The Al-Nuri Mosque was built 845 years ago and represents one of the oldest and most significant mosques in the Islamic world.

The Islamic State, through its websites, accused the Americans of destroying the mosque, but Iraqi army officials rejected such claims, stating that members of the Islamic State blew it up when Iraqi soldiers reached within 50 meters of the mosque in their offensive.

The Iraqi army has been fighting for a long time to liberate the city of Mosul from the hands of Islamic State members, and battles are currently underway in the old part of the city, which remains the last quarter in the hands of the terrorists.

Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq with slightly more than two million inhabitants and represents the economic center of Iraq.