BAGHDAD — Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Sunday blew up a mosque and shrine dating back to the 14th century in Mosul, local residents said, the latest casualty in a week in which a half dozen of the Iraqi city's most revered holy places have been destroyed.
Mosul residents said the Prophet Jirjis Mosque and Shrine was bombed and destroyed by the radical jihadists. They spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal.
The complex was built over the Quraysh cemetery and included a shrine dedicated to Nabi Jerjis, the Prophet George.
The al-Qaida breakaway group captured large swaths of land in western and northern Iraq, including Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, which was captured in June. The group has imposed a self-styled caliphate in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria, imposing its harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
Among the mosques destroyed in Mosul last week were the Mosque of the Prophet Sheeth (Seth) and the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, said to be the burial place of the Prophet Jonah, who in stories from both the Bible and Quran is swallowed by a whale. The militants claim that such mosques have become places for apostasy, not prayer.
Since ISIS began its blitz across Iraq, more than 1 million people have fled their homes, according to the United Nations. Many of those people have escaped to the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq because it has remained relatively stable since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Kurdish Regional Government President Massoud Barzani said the bombing of churches and mosques in Mosul “is against all the principles of the heavenly religions, humanity, and it is targeting the culture and demographic of the area.”
