The 1000-year-old mosque of Ana in Iraq has been blown up by unknown attackers in the latest of a series of attacks on Abbasid historical sites.

The mosque had been well preserved and saved from several threats.

In 1986, Ana, 320km west of Baghdad, was flooded after the inauguration of the al-Qadisiya dam, built on the Euphrates River. The then-Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, ordered the preservation of the Ana mosque.

Archeological teams aided by army units broke the mosque's tower, or midhana, into 18 pieces and moved them to be re-assembled.

The 26-meter midhana survived the flood and other environmental hazards until it was blown up on Thursday evening.