Tal Afar Citadel
| Tal Afar Citadel | |
|---|---|
Telafer Kalesi | |
| Tal Afar, Iraq | |
| Error creating thumbnail: The Tal Afar Citadel in 2007 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Citadel |
| Controlled by | Iraq |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Location | |
| Lua error in Module:Infobox_mapframe at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| Site history | |
| Built | 16th century |
| Built by | Ottoman Empire |
| Fate | Demolished by ISIL in 2015 |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Tal Afar (2005) Battle of Tal Afar (2017) |
The Tal Afar Citadel (Turkish: Telafer Kalesi)[1] is a citadel located in Tal Afar, a city in Nineveh Governorate in northwest Iraq. The citadel was built by the Ottoman Empire,[2] although it contains remains dating back to the Assyrian period.[3]
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.[2] 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.[4]
In December 2014, ISIL blew up the city's northern and western walls, causing extensive damage.[5] The militants also excavated some of the ruins within the citadel, probably to look for antiquities which they could sell.[3] UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova strongly condemned the destruction of the citadel.[6] The citadel was recaptured by Iraqi forces during the battle to recapture Tal Afar in 2017.[7]
| Location | Ghammas, Iraq |
|---|
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
