ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Islamic State militants have blown up a historical mosque in their latest destruction of historical landmarks in the city of Mosul, according to a Kurdish official.
“The Islamic State militants blew up the historical mosque of Bakr al-Afandi in Mosul’s western neighborhood of Bab Al-Top on Wednesday,” Saeed Mamuzini, a media officer of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
“ISIS blew up the mosque under the pretext of it having shrines inside, which is forbidden,” Mamuzni said. “The mosque of Bakr Al-Afandi was established in 1207.”
Earlier this month, ISIS also blew up the nearly 200-year-old Maryam Khatoon Mosque in Mosul, Mamuzni told Rudaw.
Mosul fell in early June 2014 after the rapid capitulation of the Iraqi military, whose members reportedly abandoned their posts as the jihadists advanced.
