ISIS just destroyed the mosque where it first declared its 'caliphate'

Social Media Website via Reuters TV

Iraq’s Ministry of Defense says the Islamic State group destroyed the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul and the iconic leaning minaret when fighters detonated explosives inside the structures late Wednesday night.

The mosque — also known as Mosul’s Great Mosque — is where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a so-called Islamic caliphate in 2014 shortly after the city was overrun by the militants and was seen as a key symbolic prize in the fight for Iraq’s second largest city.

Iraqi forces launched a push into Mosul’s Old City earlier this week where the last IS fighters are holed up with an estimated 100,000 civilians according to the United Nations.

The fight to retake Mosul was launched more than eight months ago and has displaced more than 850,000 people.

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See Also:

• The Iraqi army says it has ISIS surrounded in Mosul's Old City

• 'Surrender or die': Iraqi forces push into Mosul Old City, battling ISIS 'face to face'

• Iraqi troops have moved into Mosul's Old City, the last ISIS stronghold in Iraq