ISIS militants burn rare Iraqi manuscripts

ISIS militants have burned more than 100,000 rare manuscripts and documents, British daily The Independent has reported, citing horrified Mosul residents.

It is believed that as many as 112,709 historic documents - some registered on a UNESCO rarities list - were set alight in Mosul’s public library by militants using explosive devices, the report added.

“People tried to prevent the terrorist group elements from burning the library, but failed,” a local source told IraqiNews.com.

Other reports indicated that ISIS militants later broke into the library and constructed a huge pyre of scientific and cultural texts as university students watched in horror.

It is thought that a collection of Iraqi newspapers from the beginning of the 20 Century, as well as maps, books and collections from the Ottoman period were among those documents lost.