Battle of Sharfadin Temple
Battle of Sherfedin | |||||||
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Part of War in Iraq (2013–2017) Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014) | |||||||
![]() Sharfadin Temple | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() | Unknown | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
18 (initially) later reinforcements sent | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Sharafdin (or Sherfedîn ) was a 5-month-long battle from August, 2014 between the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish Peshmerga vigilantes with local Yazidis. The site of the battle is the pilgrimage site of Sharfadin, located on the Jabal Shingal mountain range in Ninewa Governorate in northwestern Iraq.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/VKK_0389_Yassir_sherfedin_%2852386860599%29.jpg/220px-VKK_0389_Yassir_sherfedin_%2852386860599%29.jpg)
Battle
[edit]In August 2014, the temple was the site of a battle where 18 lightly armed Yazidi Peshmerga fighters under the command of Qasim Shesho successfully held off a larger and better equipped ISIL force with armored vehicles, mortars, and rockets that had attacked the shrine as part of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL.[1]
On October 20, 2014, at three o'clock, the IS militias advanced on several locations around Jabal Shingal. Eyewitnesses report that 40 Humvees were used during the advance.[2] The IS militias were able to advance quickly and encircle the defenders in the pilgrimage site of Sharfadin. For the Yazidi religious minority, Sharfadin is the second most important pilgrimage site. According to Yazidi statements, one hundred Yazidi fighters died as part of the major offensive on October 20 alone. The Yazidi vigilantes had been waiting for days for a promised relief attack from the Peshmerga. Both the escape and possible air support from the anti-IS alliance were hampered by days of rain.[3] On October 22, the Yazidi defenders released a video showing the German-speaking fighter Yassir Qasim Khelef. The video is an appeal to the world for help and reports that the Yazidi vigilante group is only holding the position in the mountains and in the pilgrimage site, and that the IS militias are only 3 km away from the pilgrimage site.[4]
On the morning of October 25, Kurdish forces again managed to capture the town of Zummar, about 50 km northeast of the Shingal Mountains.[1] The defenders were able to keep the front line stable until the end of October, with support from the Peshmerga. On November 1, it was announced that the Peshmerga had launched an offensive to liberate the city of Shingal. The capital of the district is located about 10 km southwest of the pilgrimage site, on the opposite side of the Shingal Mountains.[5]
In December 2014, the Peshmerga launched a major attack against IS in the region and were able to liberate most of the region within a few days.[6][7][8]
Reference list
[edit]- ^ Su, Alice (2024-05-22). "No Escape From Sinjar Mountain". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Kazim, Hasnain (2014-10-20). "IS Islamischer Staat: Jesiden im Nordirak umzingelt". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "WELT - Aktuelle Nachrichten, News, Hintergründe & Videos". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Deutscher Jeziden-Kämpfer schickt verzweifeltes Video: Schickt uns Luftunterstützung". www.rhein-zeitung.de (in German). 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "derStandard.at". www.derstandard.at. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "IS-Miliz soll mehr als 100 "Deserteure" hingerichtet haben". Der Spiegel (in German). 2014-12-20. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Kurden schlugen erneuten IS-Angriff auf Kobane zurück". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Irak-Reisetagebuch: Von Dohuk nach Sherfedin | Das Erste - #BECKMANN - Sendungen". 2016-02-21. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- Battles of the War in Iraq (2013–2017)
- Battles in 2014
- 2014 in Iraqi Kurdistan
- Yazidi history
- Battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraqi Kurdistan
- Military operations of the Iraqi Civil War in 2014
- Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the Peshmerga
- Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving Iraqi Kurdistan
- 21st century in Nineveh Governorate
- Attacks on buildings and structures in 2014
- Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Iraq
- August 2014 events in Iraq
- September 2014 events in Iraq
- October 2014 events in Iraq
- November 2014 events in Iraq
- December 2014 events in Iraq
- 2014 in religion