MOSCOW, January 8 (Sputnik) – Terrorists affiliated with the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra have destroyed a shrine to a Sunni cleric built in the 13th century in the city of Nawa, southwestern Syria, Sana news agency has reported.
The terrorists detonated powerful explosives, damaging large parts of the religious monument, the agency said on Wednesday. The shrine belonged to Imam Nawawi, a prominent Islamic scholar.
The group has previously damaged other religious sites in different Syrian cities, including Aleppo, Homs and Deir Ezzor.
Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as al-Nusra Front, was established in January 2012 and has since been fighting against the Syrian government. The jihadists aim to enhance of the role of Islam in the Syrian conflict with the subsequent building of an Islamic caliphate, which would include Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
