Iraq rebuilds two bridges destroyed by IS in Mosul

Iraq rebuilds two bridges destroyed by IS in Mosul
Some of Mosul's bridges were blown up by IS jihadists as they faced a nine-month Iraqi onslaught, while some were destroyed by a US-led coalition backing government forces.
2 min read
29 April, 2018
A general view shows the banks of the Tigris river in Mosul's Old City [Getty]
Iraq has repaired two bridges in Mosul in efforts to reconstruct the city after three years of Islamic State rule.

The Directorate of Streets and Bridges in the northern Iraqi governorate of Nineveh on Saturday inaugurated the bridges, which provide vital links between two halves of the war-torn city.

"The engineering and technical experts completed the reconstruction of the Bridges of Al-Shehada and Al-Harmat, reopening both," officials announced.

The Iraqi government and the World Bank are working to rebuild damaged bridges in the devastated city following the defeat of IS last year.

For millions of residents in Mosul and the broader region the disappearance of the bridges they used to rely on has turned daily life into an arduous obstacle course.

Across the Nineveh region where Iraq's second-largest city is located, some "90 percent" of the 70 bridges have been totally or partially destroyed, Marwan Abdel Razaq from the local roads department said in January.

 
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Some of Mosul's bridges were blown up by IS jihadists as they faced a nine-month Iraqi onslaught, while others were destroyed by government forces and the firepower of a US-led coalition backing them up.

They have been reduced to pillars jutting out of the waters of the Tigris or collapsed into piles of concrete.

Baghdad estimates $100 billion is needed nationwide to rebuild after years of war.

The Iraq Report is a weekly feature at The New Arab.

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