Satellite pictures suggest oldest Christian monastery in Iraq razed to ground
(CNN) – A 1,400 year-old Christian monastery — the oldest in Iraq – was “razed to the ground” just months after ISIS took over the Iraqi city of Mosul, satellite pictures show.
The Saint Elijah monastery — also known as Dair Mar Elia — was located on the outskirts of Mosul. Despite its age, it’s unlikely the monastery collapsed naturally, according to experts at AllSource Analysis, an imagery intelligence company which studied the photos.
Several factors suggest the demolition was deliberate, the experts said.
