Iraq: ISIS Blew Up Mosque Where Baghdadi Declared Caliphate
SYMBOLISM
As Iraqi troops make progress in forcing the militants from Mosul.
Iraqi Military Handout/via Reuters TV
The Iraqi military says ISIS fighters blew up a landmark mosque in Mosul, where the terror groupâs founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a caliphate in the region three years ago. The detonation, which occurred Wednesday, came as Iraqi troops are making progress in forcing ISIS militants out of Mosul. ISISâ official media agency accused the U.S. of destroying the mosque, but a spokesman for the coalition fighting ISIS in the region denied that claim. âThe Daesh [ISIS] terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historical al-Hadba minaret,â the Iraqi military said in a statement.