ISIS has blown up the iconic mosque where it announced its own so called caliphate in 2014, an Iraqi officer has said.

The terror's group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance on the balcony of the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul that year.

Iraq's Joint Operation Command today released a satellite image showing the mosque lying in rubble.

The terror group destroyed the 800-year-old site to cover its escape as Iraqi soldiers were just 50 metres away, said Abdul-Ghani al-Assadi, commander of the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service.

ISIS attempted to blame the mosque's destruction on an airstrike by US-led coalition warplanes, but Al-Assadi insisted the building had been 'booby-trapped'.

Video of the moment the building collapsed clearly shows charges exploding on the side of the minaret, consistent with a controlled demolition, rather than an airstrike.

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ISIS has blown up the iconic al-Nuri mosque where it announced its own so called caliphate in 2014. Pictured: An image of the destruction release by Iraq's Joint Operation Command today

The terror group is said to have blown up the place of worship - also known as the Grand Mosque - to cover its escape as Iraqi soldiers advanced on the Grand Mosque in the Old City

The terror's group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance on the balcony of the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul's Old City that year

'Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City,' Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah said today. Pictured: Iraqi troops posing with the flag of defeated ISIS fighters

He added: 'When they got to within 50m of the al-Nuri mosque, Daesh (ISIS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba mosque.'

The mosque, whose minaret has leaned like Italy's Tower of Pisa for more than 840 years, seen as a symbolic prize in the fight for Iraq's second largest city.

ISIS's notorious black flag has been flying from one of its minarets since the militants captured Mosul, as well as swathes of Iraq and Syria, in 2014.

The militants sealed off all roads leading to the place of worship last month but today, US-backed Iraqi soldiers moved in on the mosque following an eight-month-long campaign to recapture Mosul, ISIS's de-facto capital in Iraq.

'The Daesh (ISIS) terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historical al-Hadba minaret,' an Iraqi military statement said today.

The destruction of two of Mosul's best-known landmarks - which ISIS claimed were obliterated by an airstrike - comes on the fourth day of a US-backed Iraqi offensive on the Old City.

The destruction adds to a long list of Iraqi heritage sites and monuments the jihadist organisation has destroyed in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS is said to have covered many streets near the Grand Mosque with sheets of cloth to obstruct air surveillance

The militants sealed off all roads leading to the Grand Mosque to stage a last stand against Iraqi troops in May. Pictured: Baghdadi speaking at the Mosque

Today US-backed Iraqi soldiers moved in on the mosque following an eight-month-long campaign to recapture Mosul

With its windy, narrow roads, the battle for Mosul's Old City is considered the deadliest in the operation (file photo of an airstrike near the Mosque in Mosul)

The blast occurred as Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Service units, who have been battling their way through Mosul's Old City, got to within 50m of the mosque (file photo)

IRAQ'S TOWER OF PISA Al-Nuri mosque's minaret known as 'Al-Hadba' - the 'Hunchback' - was the most loved and recognisable landmark in Mosul and sometimes referred to as Iraq's Tower of Pisa. The 'Hadba' was completed in 1172 and had distinctive ornamental bands of brickwork wrapping around its cylindrical shaft. It started listing centuries ago and has long been considered an endangered monument. The minaret, with its unmistakable shape, was the symbol of the city and featured in many local shops signs and advertisements. It gave its name to countless restaurants, companies and sports clubs. Al-Nuri mosque's minaret known as 'Al-Hadba' - the 'Hunchback' - was the most loved and recognisable landmark in Mosul When ISIS imposed its tyrannic brand of Islamic law it destroyed several key heritage sites in Mosul, including the main museum and shrines to Jonah and Seth. It reportedly rigged the 'Hadba' but was prevented from blowing it up by the local population. 'The minaret of Al-Hadba has been here forever, it is part of the history of Mosul, it is the symbol of the city,' Ahmed Thilij Hamed, a 49-year-old local of the Old City, said on Monday. He added: 'When the minaret is destroyed, it will be the final blow to Mosul's heritage because all the other landmarks are gone. I will be very sorry, I cannot imagine such a moment.' Advertisement

The blast occurred as Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Service units, who have been battling their way through Mosul's Old City, got to within 50m of the mosque.

The forces had encircled the jihadist group's final stronghold in the Old City yesterday.

Iraqi officials had privately expressed the hope that the mosque could be captured in time for Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan.

With more than 100,000 civilian men, women and children trapped in its fragile houses and windy roads, the battle for Mosul's Old City is considered the deadliest in the operation.

The militants were moving stealthily in the Old City's maze of alleyways and narrow streets, through holes dug between houses, fighting back the advancing troops with sniper and mortar fire, booby traps and suicide bombers.

They have also covered many streets with sheets of cloth to obstruct air surveillance, making it difficult for the advancing troops to hit them without a risk to civilians.

'We are attacking simultaneously from different fronts to break them into smaller groups which are easier to fight,' said an officer from the Federal Police, another force taking part in the assault on the Old City.

Iraqi officials had privately expressed the hope that the mosque could be captured in time for Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan

The Iraqi army estimates the number of Islamic State fighters at no more than 300, down from nearly 6,000 in October

The fight to retake Mosul was launched more than eight months ago and has forced as many as 850,000 from their homes

The Iraqi army estimates the number of Islamic State fighters at no more than 300, down from nearly 6,000 in the city when the battle of Mosul started on October 17.

The fall of Mosul would mark the end of the Iraqi half of the 'caliphate' even though Islamic State would continue to control territory west and south of the city, the largest they came to control in both Iraq and Syria.

Baghdadi has left the fighting in Mosul to local commanders and is believed to be hiding in the border area between Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. and Iraqi military sources.

The Iraqi government initially hoped to take Mosul by the end of 2016, but the campaign took longer as militants reinforced positions in civilian areas to fight back.

The fight to retake Mosul was launched more than eight months ago and has forced as many as 850,000 from their homes.