MOSUL－The storied library of Iraq's University of Mosul boasted a million titles before Islamic State extremists rampaged through it, toppling book shelves and burning ancient texts.

Now, almost five years after their defeat, the war-battered northern metropolis is trying to rebuild the pride of the city long known as a literature hub boasting countless booksellers and archives guarding rare manuscripts.

Mohamed Younes, technical director of the prestigious university library, recalled the carnage he witnessed after Mosul was recaptured from the IS in mid-2017 following long and grueling street battles.

"When we came back, we saw ...the books pulled from the shelves, thrown on the ground and burned," he said.

Thousands of texts on philosophy and law, science and poetry, which in some way contradicted the IS' extremist world view, had gone up in flames.

Some of the most valuable titles were sold on the black market.

"Before, we had more than a million titles, some of which couldn't be found in any other university in Iraq," Younes said.

When the jihadists arrived at the gates of the city, he said they were only able to move rare books and a number of foreign periodicals.

With the IS group's brutal takeover of Mosul, 85 percent of the collection was lost.

Before that, the University of Mosul was "the mother of all books", said former student Tarek Attiya, 34, who is now enrolled at Tikrit University.

"There is a huge difference between what used to be and the situation after IS," he said.

Now there is a revival going on, the library shelves are slowly lined with books again with help from donations.

Refurbished building

Refurbished with financing from a United Nations agency, the library building is set to reopen this month. Four floors high with a sleek glass exterior, it will have an initial 32,000 books.

The library will also feature a digital trove of e-books, with a view to eventually rebuild its million-strong collection.

Ahead of the opening, the books have been housed in the narrow premises of the university's engineering faculty where shelves are overflowing and titles are stacked on every available surface.

Significant donations from Arab and international universities "enable the revival of the library", Younes said.

Renowned figures in Mosul and across Iraq have also contributed by "dipping into their personal" collections, he added.

The northern metropolis of Mosul has historically been a hub for merchants and aristocrats in a rich cultural and intellectual society.

A commercial crossroad of the Middle East, Mosul was able to preserve thousands of rare and ancient works, notably religious texts.

Iraq's first printing press operated in Mosul during the second half of the 19th century.

Agencies via Xinhua