The London-based Arabic language online publication quoted Anbar provincial council member Amal Fahadway as saying that as of Sunday, the Islamic State has burnt more than 100,000 books, including rare and important manuscripts, across the Islamic State-held region.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Over 100,000 books and manuscripts perished across Iraq's Anbar Province in a series of fires of the region's libraries set by the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, the online newspaper Elaph reported Monday.

The London-based Arabic language online publication quoted Anbar provincial council member Amal Fahadway as saying that as of Sunday, the Islamic State has burnt more than 100,000 books, including rare and important manuscripts, across the Islamic State-held region.

"Armed elements of the Daash [Arabic designation for IS] bombed the public library in the Faisaliah area east of Mosul on Saturday, using improvised explosive devices," Ghanem Taan, director of Mosul's public library, was quoted as saying in a press statement.

The library director added the Mosul public library has about 8,000 cultural, historical and philosophical and scientific books, as well as a variety of poetry books.

The city of Mosul in northern Iraq is an Islamic State stronghold, captured by its militants in June 2014, with an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 extremists currently occupying the country's second-largest city.

Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group notorious for its brutal tactics, conquered substantial parts of Syria and Iraq in 2012 and 2014.

A US-led international coalition, which includes 62 countries, has carried out airstrikes against the militants' targets in both countries.