Takfiri militants damage mosque in restive Aleppo

Rasa - Foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants have damaged a mosque in Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo, as they continue attacking historical sites and holy shrines in the violence-plagued Arab country.

News ID: 2071

Date: 28 January 2015 - 21:07

RNA - A large section of the eastern exterior wall of Umayyad Mosque, better known as the Great Mosque, collapsed in the provincial capital, which is located 355 kilometers (220 miles) north of the national capital, Damascus, on Wednesday, when Takfiris blew up a tunnel dug under the holy site, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

On April 24, 2013, Takfiri militants had razed the minaret and the southern gate of the mosque.

Syria's invaluable cultural heritage is in serious danger as the country’s artifacts are either smuggled across borders or destroyed at the hands of ISIL terrorists.

Foreign-backed Takfiri militants, who are fighting the Syrian government, have launched a systematic campaign to damage and destroy the country’s historic sites in an attempt to erase Syria’s rich cultural heritage.

The United Nations has announced that Takfiri terrorists have already destroyed or damaged over 300 Syrian historical sites.

“Terrorists and militants seizing the archaeological sites as their strongholds have caused irrevocable damage to the [Syrian] tourism,” Bashar Jazmati, a Syrian tour guide, said.

Over 200,000 people have been killed in the crisis in Syria since nearly four years ago, according to reports. New figures show that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year alone.

ISIL, with members from several Western countries, controls parts of Syria and Iraq, and has been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

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