![Five IS bombs found hidden in iconic Iraq mosque: UN agency](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/56/2c/bf/Five-IS-bombs-found-hidden-in-iconi-563337.jpg)
-
Wilson, at 16, becomes youngest male USA track Olympian
-
France detains two filmmakers over sex abuse claims
-
Sinner comes through Wimbledon test to set up Berrettini clash
-
George joining 76ers, Thompson heading to Mavs in NBA free agency
-
France coach Deschamps savours reaching Euro 2024 quarter-finals
-
Coach Tedesco curses Belgium's luck after Euros exit to France
-
France star Kounde calls on voters to block far right in elections
-
Taliban told to 'include women' in public life at UN talks
-
NBA Celtics put up for sale two weeks after winning title
-
Gauff breezes into Wimbledon second round as rivals fall
-
NHL Predators land free agents Stamkos, Marchessault, Skjei
-
Games organisers will hope for peaceful reaction to French election: ex-IOC executive
-
Girmay gatecrashes 'father' Cavendish tilt at Tour history
-
France edge tense clash with Belgium to reach Euro 2024 quarter-finals
-
Nigeria weekend suicide bomb attack toll climbs to 32
-
England's Bland beats Japan's Fujita in playoff to win US Senior Open
-
Dan Ashworth joins Man Utd as sporting director
-
Girmay dedicates Tour de France stage win to Africa
-
George joins Embiid with 76ers as NBA free agency heats up: reports
-
Trump advisor Bannon reports to jail to serve sentence
-
Austria glory at Euro 2024 'not impossible', says Rangnick
-
Aboriginal ritual passed down over 12,000 years, cave find shows
-
England midfielder Barkley returns to Aston Villa
-
Osaka wins first match at Wimbledon since 2018
-
MLS St. Louis City dumps South Africa's Carnell as coach
-
Coe makes pre-Olympics visit to Ukraine to give athletes support
-
Powerful Hurricane Beryl slams into Caribbean island of Carriacou
-
Wawrinka, 39, makes flying start at Wimbledon
-
Eritrean Girmay wins Tour de France stage as Carapaz takes race lead
-
Alcaraz wins Wimbledon opener as Murray wants 'closure'
-
Nepal jails 'Buddha boy' for 10 years over child sex abuse
-
Moscow takes two more east Ukrainian villages
-
Supreme Court rules on Trump immunity, delaying trial
-
Rusty Alcaraz sees off qualifier in Wimbledon opener
-
Paqueta 'suffering' over betting allegations says new Hammers boss Lopetegui
-
Under-fire Dutch not hitting panic button, says Koeman
-
Bellingham's celebration gesture to be investigated by UEFA
-
No 'cold sweats' before Spain Euros showdown, says Germany's Raum
-
'Heartbroken' Sabalenka withdraws from Wimbledon
-
Pickford grateful to 'golden boy' Bellingham for sparing England's Euros blushes
-
Austrian Grand Prix - three things we learned
-
Alcaraz starts Wimbledon title defence as Murray wants 'closure'
-
European sprint champion Asher-Smith 'so happy' as she bids for Olympic gold
-
Anderson set to mentor England's quicks after Test exit
-
Hope for Mekong dolphins as Cambodia numbers increase: minister
-
France's far-right vote in figures
-
France detains two filmmakers over sexual abuse allegations
-
Israel strikes Gaza as militants claim rocket barrage
-
Meta risks fines over 'pay for privacy' model breaking EU rules
-
Williams takes spotlight as Spain power through to Euros quarters
![Five IS bombs found hidden in iconic Iraq mosque: UN agency](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/56/2c/bf/Five-IS-bombs-found-hidden-in-iconi-563337.jpg)
Five IS bombs found hidden in iconic Iraq mosque: UN agency
A United Nations agency said it has discovered five bombs in a wall of Mosul's iconic Al-Nuri mosque, planted years ago by Islamic State group jihadists, during restoration work in the northern Iraqi city.
Five "large-scale explosive devices, designed to trigger a massive destruction of the site," were found in the southern wall of the prayer hall on Tuesday by the UNESCO team working at the site, a representative for the agency told AFP late Friday.
Mosul's Al-Nuri mosque and the adjacent leaning minaret nicknamed Al-Hadba or the "hunchback", which dates from the 12th century, were destroyed during the battle to retake the city from IS.
Iraq's army accused IS, which occupied Mosul for three years, of planting explosives at the site and blowing it up.
UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, has been working to restore the mosque and other architectural heritage sites in the city, much of it reduced to rubble in the battle to retake it in 2017.
"The Iraqi armed forces immediately secured the area and the situation is now fully under control," UNESCO added.
One bomb was removed, but four other 1.5-kilogram (3.3-pound) devices "remain connected to each other" and are expected to be cleared in the coming days, it said.
- 'Complex manufacturing' -
"These explosive devices were hidden inside a wall, which was specially rebuilt around them: it explains why they could not be discovered when the site was cleared by Iraqi forces" in 2020, the agency said.
Iraqi General Tahseen al-Khafaji, spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command of various Iraqi forces, confirmed the discovery of "several explosive devices from ISIS jihadists in Al-Nuri mosque."
He said provincial deminers requested help from the Defence Ministry in Baghdad to defuse the remaining munitions because of their "complex manufacturing".
Construction work has been suspended at the site until the bombs are removed.
It was from Al-Nuri mosque that Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the then-leader of IS, proclaimed the establishment of the group's "caliphate" in July 2014.
The jihadists took over large swathes of territory in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, which they ruled with brutality.
Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition drove IS out of Mosul in 2017.
The Al-Nuri mosque derives its name from Nureddine al-Zinki, the unifier of Syria who also reigned for a time over Mosul and ordered its construction in 1172.
It was destroyed and rebuilt in 1942 in a renovation project, with only the ancient minaret remaining from the original structure.
The current restoration of Al-Nuri, largely funded by the United Arab Emirates, is still expected to be completed in December 2024.
This, said UNESCO, will finally erase "the stigma" of IS occupation.
The minaret -- which will be reconstructed at a slant upon the request of locals -- is being rebuilt with 45,000 of the original bricks saved from the rubble, only a third of the original structure.
The bomb scare was not the first surprise discovery at Al-Nuri. In January 2022, restoration teams unearthed an underground prayer room from the original 12th century building.
H.Portela--PC