ISIS used the Library of Mosul University as a barrack and training camp for its militants. Under their rule, more than 80 million books and electronic documents were destroyed.

The printing house of the university, the largest printing house in the Middle East, and the library were also blown up along with the library and was rendered unusable.

It is almost impossible to see a place without traces of bullets, bombs and fire on the university campus, where many faculty buildings have either collapsed or been destroyed. Roughly 45,000 students are enrolled at Mosul University.

Once the largest literary collection in the Middle East, the Library of Mosul University hopes to rebuild its elegance through book collection centers.

Sources

1. UN News Service, Iraq: UNESCO outraged over terrorist attack against Mosul Museum, 26 February 2015, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54f064434.html [accessed 8 October 2018]