According to reports quoted by “The Independent”, ISIS jihadists ransacked the Mosul library and set fire to thousands of rare documents, papyrus scrolls and hand-written works, some dating back many centuries.
 

Around 8,000 tomes were destroyed, as well as hundreds of rare and unique documents.

According to Al Jazeerah journalist Elijah J. Magnier, information points to 112,709 scrolls, notes and books as being destroyed, many of which were registered in UNESCO’s preserved documents list. The building itself was destroyed after a bomb was placed by the jihadists.

Among the destroyed documents were unique scrolls written during the Ottoman period, including rare maps. The Mosul library was founded in 1921 and was the symbol of modern Iraq’s birth.