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Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.
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Thursday Oct 31, 2019
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
The Iraqi city of Mosul lays in ruins. A three year campaign by the Iraqi army and international forces managed to push ISIS out of the country they tried to take over in 2014. But it came at a huge cost. Thousands were killed, by some estimates 40 per cent of Iraqi’s famed Golden Division counter terrorism officers died as they fought street to street, house to house in Mosul. There is an estimated 8 million tonnes of rubble in Mosul, the remnants of a fierce fight with heavy weapons. In the final push to liberate the old city, ISIS blew up the famed Al Nuri Mosque. The site had stood since the 12 century, withstanding the rise and fall of nations and countless invasions.
On the 23rd of April 2018 the UAE pledged over $50 million to rebuild the Al Nuri mosque, working with UNESCO and the Iraqi government to complete the project.
Host James Haines-Young speaks to Noura Al Kaabi, to talk about the reconstruction of the Al Nuri Mosque and its famous leaning minaret.