Hawzah News Agency- Built in the second half of the 12th century, the mosque stood as an iconic landmark for around 850 years.
IS detonated explosives inside the building in 2017 as it struggled to retain control of the city in its battle with Iraqi military forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that the building's reconstruction "will remain a milestone, reminding all enemies of the heroism of Iraqis, their defence of their land, and their rebuilding of everything destroyed by those who want to obscure the truth''.
The mosque had been the site where IS announced its self-declared caliphate to the world in 2014.
Following the liberation of Mosul eight years ago, UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency, worked alongside Iraqi heritage and religious authorities to rebuild the site.
The first phase of the project started in autumn 2018, when the site was demined and dangerous materials were removed.
An Egyptian team won an international competition to design the mosque. They showed the Iraqi public their design in May 2022, two years after a survey found that 70% of locals wanted the Al-Nouri prayer hall's essential features to be rebuilt, but some improvements to be added.
During preparatory work, four rooms dating from the 12th century, which are thought to have been used for ablutions, were discovered under the mosque's floor.
They were then incorporated into the redesign. The restoration project also rebuilt war-damaged churches in Mosul, as the city attempts to preserve the heritage of its dwindling Christian population.
Source: euro news
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