Iraq: IS militants dynamite shrine of Hazrat Shish (A.S)

MOSUL: Militants from the Islamic State group that controls large parts of Iraq have blown up a shrine in the city of Mosul, an official and witnesses said Saturday.




Jihadists destroyed the shrine of Hazrat Shish (A.S) in Mosul, the de facto Iraqi capital of the "caliphate" proclaimed last month by Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.



"IS militants stopped people from coming close, set explosives in and around the shrine and then detonated them as a crowd looked on," one resident who witnessed the demolition told AFP.



Sami al-Massoudi, the deputy head of the endowment agency overseeing holy sites, confirmed that militants blew up the shrine and added that they took some of the artefacts to an unknown location.



The latest destruction comes a day after IS militants completely levelled the reputed tomb of Hazrat Yunus (A.S) in Mosul, sparking an outcry among religious officials. (AFP)