21 June 2017, 22:01 GMT
CAIRO (Sputnik) — The Iraqi army released a statement earlier, saying the al-Nuri mosque and its famous al-Hadba leaning minaret had been destroyed by Islamists who still control parts of the northern city. A photo on the army’s website appeared to confirm this.
"The blowing up of the al-Nuri mosque and the al-Hadba minaret is an official declaration of IS [Daesh] defeat," the prime minister tweeted.
تفجير داعش لمنارة الحدباء وجامع النوري اعلان رسمي لهزيمتهم
— Haider Al-Abadi (@HaiderAlAbadi) June 21, 2017
The mosque was where the Daesh leader declared the so-called caliphate when the radicals captured Mosul in 2014. Iraqi security forces launched an operation last October to retake the key city with air support from the US-led military coalition and continued squeezing Daesh militants out of their stronghold this year.
