UAE announces project to rebuild Al Nouri Mosque in Mosul

The project will be in partnership with the UNESCO and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.

The United Arab Emirates plans to rebuild and renovate the historic Grand Nouri Mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which was destroyed by the Islamic state last year, the government said on its Twitter account on Monday. The UAE will finance a USD 50.4 million for this.

Militants blew up the mosque in recent weeks of the US-backed Iraqi campaign to expel them from Mosul, the main bastion of the organization in Iraq.

"The project will be in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICROM)," the Dubai government said on Twitter.

The Grand al-Nuri Mosque is dated to the 12th century. The protracted and fierce urban warfare largely reduced the historic landmarks of Iraq's second city to rubble.

Paris-based UNESCO said the project would take at least five years, with the first 12 months focussed on clearing districts of debris. Other sites including historic gardens will be rebuilt and the plan includes the building of a memorial and museum.

(With inputs from Reuters)