Mosul, the Iraqi army recaptures the al-Nouri mosque. Days of Isis counted
Three years after the proclamation of the "Caliphate", the Arab-Kurdish coalition takes control of the place of worship. Iraqi Prime Minister: The recapture of the site marks the end of the "false Daesh state". US military spokesman: The fall of the city is a matter of "days, rather than weeks".
Mosul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iraqi security forces have regained the area where the great mosque of al-Nouri and the leaning minaret, one of the most important sites of worship in Mosul recently destroyed by the Islamic State (IS , formerly Isis). However, the area has still not been secured of snipers and mortars launched by jihadist militias. Commenting on military success, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the retaking of the site marks "the end of the false Daesh state".
The mosque is a symbol of the rise of the Islamic State and is where its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance, proclaiming the birth of the so-called "Caliphate." An announcement made on June 29, 2014; Yesterday, after three years, the Arab-Kurdish forces protagonists of the offensive against Sunni militias fundamentalist retook the building.
In recent weeks, the Islamic State has registered a series of military defeats on the ground in Iraq and neighboring Syria, where coalition forces have also cut the last access to Raqqa, the country's jihadist stronghold. A spokesman for the Arab-Kurdish alliance in Iraq said Daesh "lost about 84,000 square kilometers of territory"; Up to 4 million people have been released from the yoke of the "Caliphate".
Recent studies published by IHS Markit show that al-Baghdadi militia still control about 36,000 kmq of territory between Syria and Iraq. Average revenue from the sale of oil and other goods collapsed from $ 81 million in the second quarter of 2015 to 16 million this year.
Witnesses report that, at the moment, only a few hundred Mosul fighters would be left, concentrated in less than one square kilometer within the Old City. Along with them there would be up to 50,000 civilians, used as human shields and with few supplies of food and water to survive. According to well-informed sources, the Iraqi army is preparing for "the final battle" to eradicate the last extremist cells from the northern metropolis.
Confirmation also comes from the spokesman for the United Nations anti-jihadist international coalition spokesman in Iraq. US Colonel Ryan Dillon has confirmed that the "complete recapture" of Mosul "will be done by the Iraqi government" and will be a matter of "days rather than weeks".
The Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako commented recently on the Islamic State devastation of Christian and Muslim places of worship, of human lives and of buildings. The primate of the Iraqi Church has relaunched the efforts for the reconstruction of Mosul and Nineveh, along with the revival of the country according to criteria of citizenship, justice and unity.
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