DHAKA: Jihadists who overran Mosul last month have demolished ancient shrines and mosques in and around the historic northern Iraqi city.

Residents and social media posts said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.

At least four shrines to Sunni Arab or Sufi figures have been demolished, while six Shia mosques, or husseiniyahs, have also been destroyed, across militant-held parts of northern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.

Pictures posted on the internet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group showed the Sunni and Sufi shrines were demolished by bulldozers, while the Shia mosques and shrines were all destroyed by explosives.

The photographs were part of an online statement titled ‘Demolishing shrines and idols in the state of Nineveh’.

Local residents confirmed that the buildings had been destroyed and that militants had occupied two cathedrals as well.

BDST: 1805 HRS, JULY 05, 2014