Updated: July 03, 2017, 1:17 PM
Families flee past Mosul's destroyed Al Nuri mosque - in pictures
It was from Al-Nuri's pulpit that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his caliphate three years ago.
A family walks past the destroyed Al Nuri Mosque as they struggle to muster the energy to escape the old city, where heavy fighting and an intense bombardment is exacting a high toll on civilians. Florian Neuhof / The National
Iraqi special forces mill around the entrance of the destroyed Al Nuri Mosque. Florian Neuhof / The National
A woman collapses next to an Iraqi Humvee. She and her family had been buried under their collapsed house, and had been pulled out of the rubble by Iraqi special forces soldiers. Florian Neuhof / The National
An officers helps an old lady into a Humvee next to the Al Nuri Mosque. Soldiers have become reluctant to help civilians, as ISIL suicide bombers mix in with the families escaping the old city. Florian Neuhof / The National
An officers helps an old lady into a Humvee next to the Al Nuri Mosque. Soldiers have become reluctant to help civilians, as ISIL suicide bombers mix in with the families escaping the old city. Florian Neuhof / The National
Soldiers walk down a narrow alleyway towards the base of Al Nuri Mosque's famous Al Hadba minaret, destroyed by ISIL on June 21. Florian Neuhof / The National
Iraqi special forces mill around the entrance of the destroyed Al Nuri Mosque. Florian Neuhof / The National
Soldiers pass two exhausted women seeking to make their way out of the devastated old city of Mosul. Florian Neuhof / The National
A family walks past the destroyed Al Nuri Mosque as they struggle to muster the energy to escape the old city, where heavy fighting and an intense bombardment is exacting a high toll on civilians. Florian Neuhof / The National