UNESCO has announced the discovery of five explosive devices hidden by ISIS seven years ago inside the wall of the Al-Nouri Mosque, an iconic heritage site currently being restored in Mosul. The UN agency stated on Friday that they found “massive explosive devices designed to completely destroy the mosque.”
However, UNESCO assured that “the situation is completely under control, and there is no danger to the surrounding residents. The explosive devices are scheduled to be dismantled in the coming days.” The mosque and its leaning minaret were destroyed in June 2017 during battles between Iraqi forces and ISIS, due to explosives placed inside the mosque by extremists, according to the Iraqi army.
UNESCO discovered “five unexploded devices” on Tuesday “inside the southern wall of the prayer hall,” each containing 1.5 kilograms of explosives. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization confirmed that “one device has been defused, but the other four are interconnected and have not yet been defused.”
Major General Tahsin Al-Khafaji, a spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, told Agence France-Presse that “workers maintaining the Al-Nouri Mosque found a group of explosive devices left by ISIS inside the mosque.” He noted that “mine removal experts in Nineveh Province (to which Mosul belongs) sought assistance from the Ministry of Defense due to the complex nature of the devices.”
As a security measure, construction work has been suspended until the bombs are defused. The explosives were discovered while teams were inspecting the wall in preparation for dismantling and rebuilding the mihrab. According to UNESCO, the extremists dismantled the wall, placed the explosives, and then rebuilt it to conceal them.
