Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 23 June 2017
Iraqis: IS blew up mosque in ‘formal declaration of defeat’

By BALINT SZLANKO and 3,000-year=old city of Nim-
SINAN SALAHEDDIN rud in Iraq’s Euphrates River
Associated Press valley.
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — With Earlier this month, Mosul
their control of Mosul slip- residents reported IS fight-
ping away, Islamic State ers had begun sealing off
militants decided to send a the area around the al-
message of defiance: They Nuri Mosque. They said the
blew up the 12th century militants ordered families
al-Nuri Mosque, along with to leave the area, likely in
its famous leaning minaret. preparation for their final
The mosque, destroyed stand.
Wednesday night, would “This is a crime against the
have been a symbolic prize people of Mosul and all of
in the fight for Iraq’s sec- Iraq, and is an example of
ond-largest city. It was from why this brutal organization
a pulpit in that mosque must be annihilated,” U.S.
that the extremists’ leader, Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin,
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, de- the commander of coali-
clared a caliphate in the tion ground forces in Iraq,
lands they had seized in said in a statement.
Iraq and Syria in July 2014. Patrick Martin, a research
According to Iraqi officials, analyst with the Institute for
the destruction of the land- the Study of War, suggest-
marks indicated that IS de- ed the move may have
fenses are crumbling and more to do with optics than
the campaign to retake This image provided by U.S. CENTCOM shows al-Nuri mosque destroyed by the Islamic State a sign of an imminent de-
Mosul — launched more group, in Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. feat.
than eight months ago — is Associated Press “This robs Iraqi security forc-
in its final stages. the longtime resident add- es of a symbolic victory,”
“They knew that the battle ed. Martin said.
had been decided in favor An IS statement posted “Iraqi security forces cap-
of the Iraqi forces and they online shortly after the de- turing the building where
knew that we were going struction of the landmarks ISIS announced the caliph-
to enter the mosque in only was reported by the Min- ate would have been a
a few hours,” said Iraqi spe- istry of Defense blamed a huge media win and mes-
cial forces Lt. Gen. Abdul- U.S. airstrike. sage to Iraqis in general, so
Wahab al-Saadi, adding A spokesman for the U.S.- destroying the mosque robs
that his troops were only led coalition rejected the them of that,” he added.
50 meters (yards) from the claim. U.S. Army Col. Ryan The destruction also feeds
mosque site. Dillon told the AP that co- into the IS narrative that the
“That’s why they exploded alition planes “did not con- United States and the co-
it,” he said. duct strikes in that area at alition is inflicting massive
Prime Minister Haider al- that time.” destruction as they try to
Abadi tweeted early Thurs- IS fighters initially tried to retake Mosul, Martin said.
day that the mosque’s de- destroy the minaret in July The mosque sat at the
struction was an admission 2014, saying the structure heart of the Old City, the
by the militants that they contradicted their funda- last IS stronghold in Mosul.
are losing the fight, calling mentalist interpretation of Iraqi forces launched a
it a “formal declaration of Islam. Mosul residents con- push into the Old City ear-
their defeat.” verged on the area, how- lier this week, but progress
Inside western Mosul, resi- ever, and formed a human has been slow as the last
dents were still reeling from chain to protect it. militants there are holed up
the loss of the iconic struc- The destruction of the with an estimated 100,000
ture that was blown up dur- mosque and the leaning civilians, according to the
ing the celebration of Lay- minaret is only the latest in United Nations.
lat al Qadr, the holiest night a long series of priceless ar- The U.N. special envoy to
of the year for Muslims. chaeological and cultural Iraq, Jan Kubis, said the
The “Night of Power” com- sites that the militants have destruction “is a clear sign”
memorates when the ravaged across Iraq and of the IS group’s imminent
Quran was revealed to the Syria. collapse.
Prophet Muhammad dur- In addition to pillaging hun- “This latest barbaric act
ing the holy month of Ra- In this Feb. 4, 2003 file photo, an electrician works on the roof of dreds of treasures and arti- of blowing up a historic
madan, which is in its wan- a shop in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul. facts, IS fighters have dam- Islamic site adds to the
ing days. The minaret that Associated Press aged or destroyed dozens annals of Daesh’s crimes
leaned like Italy’s Tower of ogy College in Mosul, told to play under its shade,” al- of historic places, includ- against Islamic, Iraqi and
Pisa had stood in Mosul for The Associated Press. Bayati said. After learning ing the town of Palmyra in human civilization,” Kubis
more than 840 years and Mohammed Tariq al-Bayati of its destruction, he said he Syria, home to one of the said in a statement, using
was known as al-Hadba. recalled growing up next to felt like his childhood had Middle East’s most spec- another acronym for the
“It is a shock, a real big the mosque. also been demolished. tacular archaeological group. “The destruction ...
shock,” Amir al-Jumaili, a “I was in my grandfather “It is the city’s icon, I can sites; the 2,000-year-old city shows their desperation
professor at the Archaeol- house. I remember we used say that Mosul has died,” of Hatra; and the nearly and signals their end.”q