Minaret of landmark mosque in Syria destroyed

Syrian state media and anti-government activists say the minaret of the famed Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo has been destroyed.

But the two sides offered different explanations for what brought it down today.

The state news agency says rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra group blew it up.

Aleppo-based activist Mohammed al-Khatib says a Syrian army tank fired a shell that “totally destroyed” the minaret.

–Agencies