From satellite photographs, it is clear that not all of the devastation in the city of Mosul, has been driven by pragmatism. While the Islamic State allegedly plans to use explosives to collapse the bridges over the Tigris River as Iraqi forces draw closer, but many other demolished buildings were once mosques or archeological sites that the jihadist group destroyed for cultural and ideological reasons. One of the city's most prominent houses of worship, the Mosque of Prophet Yunus, was sacked not long after the Islamic State seized Mosul in June 2014. The remnants of the ancient gates of Nineveh, which once stood in the heart of Mosul, were also caught in the Islamic State's crosshairs. The group bulldozed the gates and parts of Nineveh's historic city walls in April as part of its cultural campaign against historical artifacts.
Apart from archeological and religious sites, the Islamic State recently damaged several of the city's government buildings as well. The group, trying to prevent the buildings' recovery and use by approaching Iraqi forces, once relied on many of these administrative offices itself. The Nineveh provincial administration building in the center of Mosul had served as the Islamic State's municipal headquarters after it occupied the city. Now that structure has been almost completely flattened by explosives.
The overview above pinpoints sites of the most extensive destruction, but they are by no means the only devastated areas. Moreover, some of the destruction in Mosul was caused by relentless coalition airstrikes on Islamic State positions and facilities ahead of the Iraqi offensive to recapture the city. Regardless, damage is evident throughout the city's center, and as the fighting between the Islamic State and its Iraqi foes spreads through Mosul, more will follow. Once the attacking coalition retakes the city, extensive reconstruction of Mosul's basic infrastructure will be needed before life can return to normal.
