Mosul building used by ISIS to execute gay people demolished
An Iraqi scavenges for metal from the rubble of the destroyed seven-storey Chadirji Building, designed by celebrated Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji in the 1960s, on January 13, 2019, in the city of Mosul. (ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP/Getty)
A Mosul building used by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) to execute gay men has been torn down.
The building in downtown Mosul, Iraq, was heavily featured in ISIS news propaganda clips between 2014 and 2017, when the terrorist group controlled of the city.
Dozens of chilling clips were released from the location, showing men accused of having sex with other men thrown to their deaths from the roof, before being pelted with rocks.
ISIS execution building torn down in Mosul
The Chadirji Building, which was the headquarters of Iraq’s National Insurance Company prior to the ISIS occupation, had been heavily damaged during the 2017 bombardment campaign that forced ISIS out of the city.
Demolition work began a month ago at the site, and just three floors remain standing.
An Iraqi climbs up the rubble of the destroyed seven-storey Chadirji Building, designed by celebrated Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji in the 1960s, on January 13, 2019, in the city of Mosul. (ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP/Getty)
According to The New Arab, city official Mohammad Jassem said: “It’s prone to collapse because of the rockets, shelling, and explosions that hit it and destroyed large parts of it.
“A committee was formed to study the building and assessed it was no longer viable, and that any restoration at this stage would be futile.”
Some in the city opposed the decision, arguing that it should have been kept in a ruined state “as a witness to the ugliness of Daesh’s crimes against Mosul.”
But resident Samira Ali called for the site to be replaced with a museum remembering the victims of the atrocities committed by ISIS.
She told AFP: “I hope this building is removed and that a garden or museum is erected in its place.
“It’s a terrifying sight. It reminds me of the death penalty Daesh would mete out against innocent people by throwing them off the roof.”
It is unclear what the current plans are for the site.
ISIS used Mosul site for gory homophobic propaganda clips
Many of the group’s ‘death to gays’ execution videos that have reverberated around the world were filmed at the site in Mosul.
Official ISIS news outlets had taunted the West with a string of ‘death to gays’ execution videos, showing men accused of homosexuality being thrown off buildings and pelted with stones.
A still from a propaganda ISIS news clip featuring an anti-gay execution filmed in Mosul.
Abu Omer, a senior Jihadi executioner from Mosul known as ‘White Beard,’ was captured in 2018.
ISIS news: RESURGENCE of group feared as Trump withdraws troops
US President Donald Trump committed in December 2018 to pulling out the 2,000 American troops stationed in Syria to fight ISIS, and also plans to scale back US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The news led to the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, with experts warning that ISIS may seize the opportunity for a new push in the region.
Trump claimed: “If anybody but Donald Trump did what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS loaded mess when I became President, they would be a national hero.
“ISIS is mostly gone, we’re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants.”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the withdrawal would have dangerous repercussions and could spark a resurgence.
The group said in a statement: “The war against terrorism has not ended and ISIS has not been defeated.”
The statement described the Syria withdrawal as having “dangerous implications for international stability” and warned it could “create a political and military vacuum in the area, leaving its people between the claws of hostile parties.”
