The Islamic State (ISIS) released a video on social media showing militants burning a pile of Christians books, pamphlets and manuscripts in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which they took over about two years ago.
A native media activist Abdullah al-Mulla told ARA News in Mosul that the jihadis burned "hundreds of Christian textbooks in central Mosul, having collected them earlier last week from the schools and churches of the city."
"The militants have also collected a lot of Christian textbooks from the Dawassa district near the Martyrs' Park and publically burned them," he said.
The extremists claimed that those were the "books of infidels," in the video titled, "Diwan of education destroys Christian instruction books in Mosul."
The Diwan Al-Hisba, translated as Chamber of Morality Police, is tasked by the ISIS to enforce the Sharia laws, and has been a part of ISIS governance in its captured territory in Iraq and Syria since summer of 2014.
Last year, they bombed the main library in Mosul which had about 8,000 historic books and 700 rare manuscripts, apart from books dating back to Ottoman Empire, and collection of newspapers from early 20th century.
The militants declared a self-governed caliphate in the city, and labeled the Christian sites, churches, and artefacts as idolatrous.
Mosul was invaded by the Islamic State militants in June, 2014, and implemented strict Islamic laws, giving Christians the options to convert to Islam, pay jizya (tax), or leave the city. Those who declined to follow any of the instructions were brutally killed, with a very few remaining Christians in the city.
Northern Iraq, where huge swathes of land are under the control of ISIS, have witnessed mass migration out of the region, especially among the Christian and Yazidi communities. Nearly 400,000 Yazidis fled Kurdistan in Iraq to escape mass killings, rapes, and abductions, while hundreds of thousands of Christians also fled the country to evade persecution at the hands of Islamic State.
