Mosul’s renowned minaret restored from ravages of Islamic State

Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, known for its eight-century-old leaning minaret, destroyed by Islamic State militants in 2017, has been renovated in a boost for Iraq’s second city as it rebuilds after long years of war.

From the pulpit of this medieval mosque on July 4, 2014, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled ‘caliphate’ spanning parts of Syria and Iraq.

Three years later, the ultra hardline group demolished