Painful images were circulated in the news in early February, showing Islamic State (IS) members burning close to 20,000 books in the area of Sadiyah in the province of Diyala. On Feb. 22, the terrorist group burned the public library in the city of Mosul.
The burning of libraries continued, reaching the cities of Anbar, Tikrit and others that fall under the group’s control. Local residents in the city of Mosul have said that their cities have become without books, after having been widely known for the abundance of their libraries. Rare manuscripts were among the burned documents, according to witnesses in the city.