Iraq begins rebuilding of Mosul's  Al Nuri Mosque

Iraq began rebuilding Mosul’s Al Nuri Mosque on Sunday, laying the cornerstone of a UAE-funded project to restore the national treasure destroyed by ISIS last year.

The twelfth century mosque and its famous leaning minaret – nicknamed Al Hadba or “the hunchback”– adorns Iraq’s 10,000 dinar note. It gained international notoriety in 2014 as the location where Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi declared his ISIS “caliphate”.

By anointing himself so-called caliph in the mosque – his only public appearance as the leader of ISIS – Al Baghdadi sealed the building's fate.

In June 2017, as Iraqi security forces advanced to within 50 metres of the mosque in the closing days of the battle for Mosul, ISIS destroyed it. Reluctant to suffer a symbolic defeat by withdrawing, ISIS fighters demolished the building with explosives and attempted to blame the destruction on coalition air strikes.

The mosque's destruction "was a moment of horror and despair," said Unesco Iraq representative Louise Haxthausen.

"Today as we lay the foundation stone of the Nuri mosque, we are starting a journey of physical reconstruction," she told those gathered.