Iraq demolishes historic 300-year-old religious minaret for bizarre reason, sparking outcry

Officials in Basra, Iraq, decided to tear down a three-century-old religious minaret, prompting backlash from some residents who argued the city's reasoning was not sufficient.

"The actions of official authorities that have put an end to our heritage," Jaafar Jotheri, an assistant professor of geoarchaeology at Al-Qadisiyah University in Iraq, told The Associated Press.

City officials claimed the minaret encroached on the street, but Jotheri protested: "The minaret predates the street and it is one of the oldest sites in Basra. It was not encroaching on the street; rather, they encroached upon it."