Iraq counters ISIS account of how mosque blew up
Video evidence disputes propaganda blaming airstrike
Iraq’s military released a video showing that Mosul’s famed al-Nuri mosque was blown up by explosives, but Islamic State followers prefer to believe the militant group’s explanation that it was caused by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike, analysts said Thursday.
“Jihadist supporters are using it to blame the West and Americans,” said Alberto Fernandez, vice president of the Middle East Media Research Institute and a former top State Department official.
The reports surrounding the mosque destruction highlight the difficulty in overcoming powerful Islamic State propaganda, often nothing more than fake news. Its followers are not easily swayed by evidence, and objective truth has little meaning, he said.
“The true believers have drunk so much Kool-Aid,” Fernandez said that they are not about to quickly change their minds even when confronted with compelling evidence.
The Iraqi military and coalition quickly displayed evidence of the destruction of the 12thcentury mosque and its iconic leaning minaret, knowing the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, would make false claims about how it was destroyed. The U.S. military released a still photo showing the extent of the damage.
The video shows the entire structure going up in smoke. There are no aircraft or muni- tions in sight, and the coalition generally uses small munitions, particularly when fighting in dense neighborhoods. Rarely does the coalition use a bomb large enough to destroy the whole structure. The coalition avoids religious sites, particularly ones as prominent as the alNuri mosque.
The coalition said it was not conducting missions in the area at the time the mosque was destroyed.
The U.S. military said ISIS destroyed the mosque Wednesday as U.S.-backed coalition forces closed in. Iraqi military forces are close to driving militants from Mosul.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the militants’ destruction of the mosque was proof they are losing the fight in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.
The mosque is fraught with symbolism. Also known as Mosul’s Great Mosque, it is where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a speech in July 2014, declaring the establishment of a caliphate across Iraq and Syria.
“This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, commander of the coalition, said in a statement. “The responsibility of this devastation is laid firmly at the doorstep of ISIS, and we continue to support our Iraqi partners as they bring these terrorists to justice.”
ISIS’ formidable propaganda arm went into overdrive after the mosque was destroyed, reinforcing its viewpoint throughout the Internet and apps, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online terrorist activity.
“ISIS has created its own huge media infrastructure,” she said.