In Iraq, academics restock Mosul's barren bookshelves

MOSUL, Iraq - Watheq Mahmud is pursuing an advanced engineering degree but the textbooks he needs are often missing in his native Mosul, the Iraqi city where extremists burned volumes and destroyed libraries.

To track down the books, he has had to travel 400 kilometers south to Baghdad, and even a further 600 kilometers to Basra.

"Everything is reversed today. Mosul used to be the hub for students and researchers from all across Iraq and the Arab world," said Mahmud, 33.