Islamic State (IS) has blown up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, reports BBC quoting Iraqi forces.

The ancient landmark mosque with its famous leaning minaret was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" in 2014.

However, IS claims that US aircraft destroyed the complex, in a statement issued by its news outlet Amaq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said blowing up the mosque was "an official declaration of defeat" by IS.

Aerial photos show that the mosque and minaret has been largely destroyed.

The Iraqi commander in charge of the offensive to retake Mosul said troops were within 50 metres of the mosque when IS "committed another historical crime".

A senior US commander in Iraq said IS had destroyed "one of Mosul and Iraq's great treasures".

"This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated," Maj Gen Joseph Martin said.

The jihadists have destroyed a string of important heritage sites in Iraq and Syria.

The UN has said that IS may be holding more than 100,000 people in Mosul as human shields.

Thousands of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplanes and military advisers, are involved in the offensive against IS, which was launched on 17 October 2016.

The government announced the full "liberation" of eastern Mosul in January 2017. But the west of the city has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.

BDST: 0917 HRS, JUN 22, 2017
SI