Timbuktu's mayor said Islamists fleeing the town set fire to a library housing thousands of historic manuscripts. Officials say they do not yet know the extent of the damage.
Timbuktu's Historic Manuscripts and Mosques
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This March 16, 2004 photo shows an unidentified worker looking after some of the 20,000 preserved ancient Islamic manuscripts which rest in air-conditioned rooms at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, Mali.
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This March 16, 2004 shows some of the 20,000 preserved ancient Islamic manuscripts which rest in air-conditioned rooms are displayed at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, Mali.
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This March 16, 2004 shows Alhousseini Ould Alfadrou, 16, singing verses from crumbling ancient Islamic manuscripts in a mud-walled house in Timbuktu, Mali.
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This May 1, 2012 photo shows men work near one of Timburktu's historic mud mosques.