Feature: Iraqi authorities begin removing debris to reconstruct historic mosque in Mosul

Photo taken on Dec. 6, 2018 shows a shovel truck entering the yard of al-Nuri Mosque to remove the debris in the old city of Mosul, northern Iraq. Iraqi authorities on Thursday began removing debris from the site of the ancient al-Nuri Mosque destroyed last year during battles to dislodge the Islamic State (IS) militants from the old city center of Iraq's second largest city Mosul. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)