When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took to the pulpit of Iraq's historic al-Nuri mos...
MOSUL, Iraq - When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took to the pulpit of Iraq’s historic al-Nuri mosque to declare his caliphate in 2014, residents of Mosul had no idea the extent to which their city would be devastated.
Once a proud symbol of Mosul, the 850-year-old mosque has lain in ruin since Islamic State was routed there in 2017, piles of twisted metal and flattened stone. It was the crowning moment in a reign of terror that stretched over three years and two countries. Islamic State overran large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 only to be beaten back in 2017. Mosul was their Iraqi capital.Few minced their words looking back on Baghdadi’s reign. Some swore, even as the call to prayer wafted overheard.
Its streets bear the scars of the horrors Moslawis survived – either living under Islamic State’s draconian rule or during nine months of brutal fighting, as Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition fought to recapture the city.
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