Tal Afar Citadel
| Tal Afar Citadel | |
|---|---|
| Telafer Kalesi | |
| Tal Afar, Iraq | |
|
The Tal Afar Citadel in 2007 | |
| Coordinates | 36°22′32″N 42°27′16.7″E / 36.37556°N 42.454639°E |
| Type | Citadel |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built by | Ottoman Empire |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Tal Afar |
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]
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]
References
- 1 2 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.
- 1 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.