According to Rudaw, an Iraqi news agency, on February 2, security sources from the Ninevah police district said that the Islamic State blew up the Church of the Immaculate Virgin—one of the largest and oldest Chaldean churches in the ancient section of Mosul.
The security source said: “The organization finished wiring the church with explosives this morning and detonated it, leaving widespread destruction in the church and neighboring buildings.”
Prior to this, the old church — which stood on the foundation of what was the most ancient Christian church in Mosul – had withstood previous attacks by Islamic militants, including a 2008 car bomb attack.