Image copyright Iraqi Joint Operation Command Image caption The Iraqi military provided this image showing the destruction at the mosque compound

So-called Islamic State (IS) has blown up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraqi forces say.

The ancient landmark with its famous leaning minaret was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" in 2014.

However, IS claims that US aircraft destroyed the complex, in a statement issued by its news outlet Amaq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said blowing up the mosque was "an official declaration of defeat" by IS.

Aerial photos show that the mosque and minaret has been largely destroyed.

The Iraqi commander in charge of the offensive to retake Mosul said troops were within 50 metres of the mosque when IS "committed another historical crime".

A senior US commander in Iraq said IS had destroyed "one of Mosul and Iraq's great treasures".

"This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organisation must be annihilated," Maj Gen Joseph Martin said.

The jihadists have destroyed a string of important heritage sites in Iraq and Syria.

The UN has said that IS may be holding more than 100,000 people in Mosul as human shields.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The mosque's leaning minaret had been a familiar part of Mosul's skyline

Thousands of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplanes and military advisers, are involved in the offensive against IS, which was launched on 17 October 2016.

The government announced the full "liberation" of eastern Mosul in January 2017. But the west of the city has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.

Offensive's 'final chapter'

The Iraqi statement said both the mosque and its distinctive Hadba (hunchback) leaning minaret had been blown up.

Construction began on the mosque in 1172.

A month after IS forces overran Mosul in June 2014, Baghdadi gave a Friday sermon from the pulpit inside the mosque and proclaimed a caliphate - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia, by God's deputy on Earth, or caliph.

It was his first public appearance in many years.

The Old City is the last district under the control of IS within Mosul itself, which was the group's stronghold in Iraq.

On Sunday, commanders announced the start of the "final chapter" of the offensive, with Iraq's counter-terrorism service, army and federal police attacking the Old City from all directions.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption West Mosul has seen fierce fighting between IS and Iraqi forces

Image copyright AFP Image caption Civilians have been fleeing the Old City as the offensive continues

The army said it believed there were no more than 300 militants left in Mosul, compared with almost 6,000 at the start of the offensive in October.

Earlier this week aircraft dropped leaflets urging civilians to avoid open spaces and to take any opportunity to escape.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Tuesday that the flow of injured civilians out of western Mosul had increased, with victims having wounds from gunshots, shelling and bombs.

Why would IS blow up the Nuri mosque? By Paul Adams, BBC News World Affairs correspondent

It is Mosul's most famous Sunni mosque, named after the Muslim leader, Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, famous for waging jihad against Christian crusaders.

And it is where the leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made his one and only public appearance, shortly after his group declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

But IS fighters have shown scant regard for history or culture in the three years since their lightning advance across northern Iraq.

Reports that they rigged the Nuri mosque with explosives have been circulating since Iraqi government forces began their effort to take back the city nine months ago.

Destruction of the mosque, most observers assumed, would mark the group's final act of angry defiance before finally losing their grip on Mosul.

IS claims that the mosque was destroyed by a US airstrike. This seems unlikely but such is the savage nature of the struggle for control of Mosul that it's fair to say that preserving the city's cultural and religious heritage has not been a high priority for anyone involved.</s>Baghdad: Islamic State militants blew up on Wednesday the Grand al-Nuri Mosque of Mosul and its leaning minaret, an Iraqi military statement said.

Notably, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had declared himself "caliph" in this mosque in 2014.

It was his only public appearance.

The IS blew up the mosque as they prepared to flee the besieged city, Iraqi Joint Operations Command spokesperson Yahya Rasoul told Rudaw TV, that broadcasts from the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, on Wednesday, Efe news reported.

The jihadists swiftly issued a statement via their Amaq propaganda agency blaming a US strike, but the US-led coalition condemned the destruction as a crime against "the people of Mosul and all of Iraq".

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the destruction of the sites was "an official declaration of defeat" from the jihadists in the eight-month-old battle for Mosul.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.

The destruction of two of Mosul`s best-known landmarks comes on the fourth day of an Iraqi offensive backed by the US-led coalition to take the Old City, where holdout jihadists are making a bloody last stand.

It adds to a long list of Iraqi heritage sites and monuments the jihadist organisation has destroyed in Iraq and Syria since Baghdadi created his "caliphate" straddling both countries, almost exactly three years ago.

IS proclaimed its self-styled "caliphate" in June 2014, after sweeping across Iraq`s Sunni Arab heartland, an unprecedented experiment in jihadist statehood.

The Iraq-born Baghdadi appeared at the Nuri mosque in Mosul, Iraq`s second city, days later to declare himself "caliph" and urge the world`s Muslims to move in.

It remains the last public appearance to date for the jihadist supremo, whose fate and whereabouts are currently unclear and whose "state" has been shrinking for two years.

Iraqi forces on Sunday launched an assault on the Old City of Mosul, eight months into a huge offensive to wrest back the northern city from the jihadists, who had made it their de facto Iraqi capital.

The ancient minaret known as "Al-Hadba" (Hunchback) lies next to the Nuri mosque and was the most loved and recognisable landmark in Mosul, sometimes referred to as Iraq`s Tower of Pisa.

The "Hadba" was completed in 1172 and had distinctive ornamental bands of brickwork wrapping around its cylindrical shaft. It started listing centuries ago and has long been considered an endangered monument.

The minaret, with its unmistakeable shape, was the symbol of the city and featured in many local shops signs and advertisements. It gave its name to countless restaurants, companies and sports clubs.

When IS imposed its tyrannic brand of sharia, or Islamic law, in the early stages of its "caliphate", it destroyed several key heritage sites in Mosul, including the main museum and shrines to Jonah and Seth.

It reportedly rigged the "Hadba", which it sees as the subject of a cult that transgresses its own regressive and ultra-conservative brand of Islam, but had been prevented from blowing it up by the local population.

The US-led coalition which carries out daily air strikes and has advisers on the ground supporting the Mosul operation condemned the destruction.

"This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated," said Major General Joseph Martin.</s>The video is grainy and blurred, but the destruction is obviously the result of an engineered implosion, not an airstrike. At any rate, a fitting end to “The Caliphate”.

Islamic State militants blew up on Wednesday the Grand al-Nuri Mosque of Mosul and its famous leaning minaret, an Iraqi military statement said, as Iraqi forces seeking to expel the group from the city closed in on the site.

It was from this medieval mosque that the militants’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled “caliphate” spanning parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.

The Iraqi military’s media office distributed a picture taken from the air that appears to show the mosque and minaret flattened in the middle of the small houses of the Old City, the historic district where the militants are besieged.

“The Daesh (Islamic State) terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historical al-Hadba minaret,” the Iraqi military statement said.

The explosions happened as Iraq’s elite Counter Terrorism Service units, which have been battling their way through Mosul’s Old City, got to within 50 meters (164 ft) of the mosque, the statement said.

Iraqi forces earlier on Wednesday said they had started a push towards the mosque. A U.S.-led coalition is providing air and ground support to the Mosul offensive which began in October 2016.

The forces had encircled on Tuesday the jihadist group’s stronghold in the Old City, the last district under their control in Mosul.

Al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself “caliph”, or ruler of all Muslims, from the pulpit of the mosque on July 4, 2014, after the insurgents overran parts of Iraq and Syria.

His black flag had been flying over its 150-foot (45-metre)leaning minaret since June 2014.

Baghdadi’s speech from the mosque was also the first time he revealed himself to the world, and the footage broadcast then is to this day the only video recording of him.</s>Nuri mosque adds to a long list of Iraqi heritage sites and monuments the jihadist organisation has destroyed in Iraq and Syria

Jihadists blew up Mosul's iconic leaning minaret and the adjacent mosque where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 declared himself "caliph" in his only public appearance, Iraqi officials said.

The Islamic State group swiftly issued a statement via its Amaq propaganda agency blaming a US strike, but the US-led coalition condemned the destruction as a crime against "the people of Mosul and all of Iraq".

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi yesterday said the destruction of the sites was "an official declaration of defeat" from the jihadists in the eight-month-old battle for Mosul.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.

The destruction of two of Mosul's best-known landmarks comes on the fourth day of an Iraqi offensive backed by the US-led coalition to take the Old City, where holdout jihadists are making a bloody last stand.

It adds to a long list of Iraqi heritage sites and monuments the jihadist organisation has destroyed in Iraq and Syria since Baghdadi created his "caliphate" straddling both countries, almost exactly three years ago.

IS proclaimed its self-styled "caliphate" in June 2014, after sweeping across Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, an unprecedented experiment in jihadist statehood.

The Iraq-born Baghdadi appeared at the Nuri mosque in Mosul, Iraq's second city, days later to declare himself "caliph" and urge the world's Muslims to move in.

It remains the last public appearance to date for the jihadist supremo, whose fate and whereabouts are currently unclear and whose "state" has been shrinking for two years.

Iraqi forces on Sunday launched an assault on the Old City of Mosul, eight months into a huge offensive to wrest back the northern city from the jihadists, who had made it their de facto Iraqi capital.

The ancient minaret known as "Al-Hadba" (Hunchback) lies next to the Nuri mosque and was the most loved and recognisable landmark in Mosul, sometimes referred to as Iraq's Tower of Pisa.

The "Hadba" was completed in 1172 and had distinctive ornamental bands of brickwork wrapping around its cylindrical shaft. It started listing centuries ago and has long been considered an endangered monument.

The minaret, with its unmistakeable shape, was the symbol of the city and featured in many local shops signs and advertisements. It gave its name to countless restaurants, companies and sports clubs.

When IS imposed its tyrannic brand of sharia, or Islamic law, in the early stages of its "caliphate", it destroyed several key heritage sites in Mosul, including the main museum and shrines to Jonah and Seth.

It reportedly rigged the "Hadba", which it sees as the subject of a cult that transgresses its own regressive and ultra-conservative brand of Islam, but had been prevented from blowing it up by the local population.

"The minaret of Al-Hadba has been here forever, it is part of the history of Mosul, it is the symbol of the city," Ahmed Thilij Hamed, a 49-year-old resident of a neighbourhood near the Old City, told AFP on Monday.

It had become clear to most in Mosul that IS would not give up its last redoubt in the city without destroying landmarks whose capture by the Iraqi forces would have dealt them a massive symbolic blow.

"When the minaret is destroyed, it will be the final blow to Mosul's heritage because all the other landmarks are gone," Hamed said. "I will be very sorry, I cannot imagine such a moment."

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, one of the top commanders of the Counter-Terrorism Service that has spearheaded the fighting against IS, explained why he thought the Nuri mosque and nearby "Al-Hadba" would almost inevitably be destroyed.

"The mosque has some symbolism for the terrorist gangs, being the mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave his first sermon" as IS leader, he told AFP on Monday from his command post on the edge of Mosul.

"Perhaps they won't want to leave this place that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took to the security forces and maybe they'll send a message accusing Iraqi units of of destroying them," he predicted.

The US-led coalition which carries out daily air strikes and has advisers on the ground supporting the Mosul operation condemned the destruction.

"This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated," said Major General Joseph Martin.</s>Islamic extremists Isis have 'blown up' the famous Great Mosque of al-Nuri in embattled Mosul where they declared their 'Caliphate' in 2014, say Iraqi authorities.

Isis warlord Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi used the mosque's pulpit to deliver a speech that shook the world after the Islamic fundamentalists took over large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

The US-backed Iraqi Ministry of Defence say that the mosque, believed to have been constructed in the 12th Century, was destroyed as their forces advanced in the Old City area of Mosul.

The area is seeing some of the fiercest fighting for the city, once the largest under Isis control in Iraq, as fighters dig in eight months after an advance on the city was announced.

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement that Isis destroyed the mosque and iconic leaning minaret by detonating explosives inside the mosque.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nouri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nouri mosque and the Hadba" mosque," he said.

In response to the claims made by the Iraqi Army Isis released a statement on their news outlet Amaq claiming that a US aircraft destroyed the mosque.

The BBC reported that the commander of the Iraqi forces said his soldiers were 15m from the mosque earlier in the day.

It is not clear if the mosque is beyond repair or completely destroyed in a district where an estimated 100,000 civilians could be holed-up and could be used as human shields, according to the UN.

The operation to re-take the city - that was overrun by the extremists in a lightning advance in June 2014 - began on 17 October last year with Isis murdering thousands of civilians for attempting to flee.

Al-Baghdadi gave a Friday sermon from the pulpit inside the mosque which became his first public appearance in many years, and the last time he was captured on video by the west.

The operation has been supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen.

The city, once of 1.5million people, has seen an estimated 850,000 people flee and the Russian military say that they believe that they killed al-Baghdadi in neighbouring Syria.</s>The Islamic State group destroyed the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul and the famous leaning minaret when fighters detonated explosives inside the structures, Iraq's Ministry of Defence has said. 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.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Thewestmorland Gazette.</s>Isis militants have blown up the world famous Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul and the adjacent mosque.

The mosque is where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a rare public appearance the following month and gave a speech proclaiming the creation of a new "caliphate".

The Great Mosque is named after Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, a Turkic ruler of Mosul and Aleppo who ordered its construction in 1172, two years before his death.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.</s>The destruction of two of Mosul's best-known landmarks comes on the fourth day of an Iraqi offensive backed by the US-led coalition on the Old City....

Jihadists on Thursday blew up Mosul's iconic leaning minaret and the adjacent mosque where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a "caliphate" in his only public appearance in 2014, an Iraqi commander said.

The Islamic State group swiftly issued a statement via its Amaq propaganda agency blaming a US strike.

"Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.

The destruction of two of Mosul's best-known landmarks comes on the fourth day of an Iraqi offensive backed by the US-led coalition on the Old City, where holdout jihadists are making a bloody last stand.

It adds to a long list of Iraqi heritage sites and monuments the jihadist organisation has destroyed in Iraq and Syria since Baghdadi created his "caliphate" straddling both countries, almost exactly three years ago.</s>The Islamic State group destroyed the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul and the famous leaning minaret when fighters detonated explosives inside the structures, Iraq's Ministry of Defence has said.

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.</s>BAGHDAD: The Islamic State group on Wednesday blew up Mosul’s iconic leaning minaret and the adjacent mosque where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance in 2014, a top commander said. “Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba” mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a statement.
ISIL militants reportedly blow up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi famously proclaimed the creation of a caliphate in 2014. ISIL blames a U.S. airstrike.