Mosul's trademark leaning minaret was missing from its skyline for the first time in centuries Thursday after desperate jihadists blew it up as Iraqi forces advanced on an ancient mosque compound.
Explosions on Wednesday evening leveled the Nuri mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave his first sermon as leader of the Islamic State group and its ancient leaning minaret Cheap Philadelphia Phillies Jersey , known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback).
Officials from Iraq and the US-led anti-IS coalition said the destruction of the site was a sign of the jihadist group's imminent loss of Mosul, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi calling it an "official declaration of defeat."
The loss of the unmistakable 12th century minaret - one of the country's most recognizable monuments sometimes referred to as Iraq's Tower of Pisa - left the country in shock.
But the destruction had been widely anticipated, with commanders saying IS would not have allowed Iraqi forces to score a hugely symbolic victory by recapturing the site.
"They blew up this place in an attempt to cover up their heavy losses in the media, but the media and the people see the victories and see the collapse of Daesh Cheap Pittsburgh Pirates Jersey ," Brigadier General Falah Fadel al-Obeidi, from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told AFP in Mosul.
IS claimed on its Amaq propaganda agency that the site was hit in a US strike, but the US-led coalition said it was the jihadists who had "destroyed one of Iraq's great treasures."
Brett McGurk Cheap San Diego Padres Jersey , the US envoy to the coalition, said it was the "clearest sign yet of desperation and defeat" from the jihadists.
The destruction of the site in Mosul's Old City adds to a long list of priceless heritage destroyed by IS during its three-year rule over parts of Iraq and Syria.
The minaret, which was completed in 1172 and is featured on Iraq's 10,000-dinar banknote. It has been the main symbol of Iraq's second city for centuries - giving its name to countless restaurants Cheap San Francisco Giants Jersey , companies and even sports clubs in Mosul.
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