Tal Afar Citadel

The Tal Afar Citadel (Turkish: Telafer Kalesi) is a citadel located in Tal Afar, a city in Nineveh Governorate in northwest Iraq. The citadel was built by the Ottoman Empire,[1] although it contains remains dating back to the Assyrian period.[2]

Tal Afar Citadel
Telafer Kalesi
Tal Afar, Iraq
The Tal Afar Citadel in 2007
Coordinates36°22′32″N 42°27′16.7″E
TypeCitadel
Site information
Controlled byIraq
ConditionRuins
Site history
Built byOttoman Empire
Battles/warsBattle of Tal Afar (2005)
Battle of Tal Afar (2017)

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the citadel housed the mayoral, municipal and police headquarters of Tal Afar. It was used as a base by American forces in the Battle of Tal Afar in 2005.[1] Tal Afar fell to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in June 2014, and the militants used the citadel as a prison for women and girls who were to be forcibly married to ISIL members.[3]

In December 2014, ISIL blew up the city's northern and western walls, causing extensive damage.[4] The militants also excavated some of the ruins within the citadel, probably to look for antiquities which they could sell.[2] UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova strongly condemned the destruction of the citadel.[5] The citadel was recaptured by Iraqi forces during the battle to recapture Tal Afar in 2017.[6]

References
  1. Schlosser, Nicholas J. (August 2015). "The Pacification of Tal Afar". U.S. Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  2. "Extremist IS militants damage ancient citadel, two shrines in Iraq's Nineveh". Xinhua News Agency. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.
  3. "Iraq: ISIS executes at least 150 women for refusing to marry its militants". Al Akhbar. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014.
  4. Jones, Christopher (15 February 2015). "ISIS destroys several more sites in Mosul and Tal Afar". Gates of Nineveh. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  5. "UNESCO Director-General strongly condemns attacks at ancient site of Tel Afar in Iraq". UNESCO. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015.
  6. "Iraqi fighters retake historic city from ISIS". The Straits Times. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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