The siege of Amirli was a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of the predominantly

Shi'ite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

Turkmen town of Amirli in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) during the

War in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...

. The town was besieged by ISIL forces from June 2014, lacking access to food, electricity, and water. Most of the residents are Shia Turkmen, who had organized local self-defense militias to fight against ISIL. On August 31, the

Iraqi military The Iraqi Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة العراقية romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallahah Al-Iraqiyyah'') ( Kurdish: هێزە چەکدارەکانی عێراق) are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist ...

reportedly broke the siege and entered the town. It has been described as "Iraq's biggest victory against ISIS", as of September 2014.

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

had reportedly played a "military planning" role in breaking siege of Amirli.

Events

Siege

The siege began in June, after

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) forces advanced on Iraqi positions in Northern Iraq. They attacked the town, but failed to capture it after townspeople armed with

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

s put up resistance. However, ISIL had more powerful weapons compared to the local militia, prompting fears that they would try to storm the town. ISIL forces continued to fire mortars and rockets into the town and launched raids against it. 20,000 citizens in Amirli were in danger from being killed by ISIL, dying from thirst or hunger. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

expressed concern over the situation in Amirli, and warned about the possibility of ISIL committing a massacre in the town.

Military efforts

On 30 August, the Iraqi Army,

militias and

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

started a campaign to break the siege, after the speaker of

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been describe ...

, Abdul-Mahdi al-Karabalai, called to move and break the siege by ISIL on the town. The forces attacked ISIL from three areas, the army attacked from the south of Amirli in Adhaim, the Peshmerga attacked from the north in Tuz Khurmatu, the militias attacked from the east in

Kifri Kifri ( ar, کفري; ku, کفری, translit=Kifrî; tr, Kifri) is the central town of Kifri District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. It has a Kurdish majority and a Turkmen and Arab minority. It is administered by Kurdistan Region but remains a ...

. Kataib Hezbollah helicoptered in 50 of its best fighters, according to Abu Abdullah, a local Kataib Hezbollah commander. The fighters set up an operations room to coordinate with the Iraqi army, the other militia groups, and advisers from the

Quds Force The Quds Force ( fa, نیروی قدس, niru-ye qods, Jerusalem Force) is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War ...

, the branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that handles operations outside Iran and oversees Tehran's Iraqi militias. On 31 August, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Australia began humanitarian aid drops, like food, water and medical supplies, to help prevent a potential

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

against the Shi'a Turkmen minority in Amirli. The US also carried out air strikes on ISIL positions around and near Amirli. Iraqi officials stated that they had reached Amirli and broken the siege and that the military was currently fighting to clear the areas around the town. On the same day, with the support of the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

, the offensive troops succeeded in breaking the siege and freeing the villages around it, with the local citizens cheering and celebrating the end of the siege. The speaker of the

Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة العراقية romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallahah Al-Iraqiyyah'') ( Kurdish: هێزە چەکدارەکانی عێراق) are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist ...

, Qasim Atta, stated that the troops succeeded in breaking the siege by entering the Amirli from the south. The offensive forces are proceeding in opening the

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

– Amirli road.

Aftermath

After regaining control over Amirli, on 1 September, the Iraqi Army and its allies went on and retrieved the town of Suleiman Bek (90 km east of

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

) from ISIL. An Iraqi official stated that 23

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...

from ISIL were killed, including 10 snipers. Following the operations to end the Amirli siege, pro-government militias and volunteer fighters as well as Iraqi security forces raided Sunni villages and neighborhoods around Amirli in Saladin and Kirkuk Governorates. Many were villages that ISIL had passed through and in some cases used as bases for their attack on Amirli. During the raids, militiamen, volunteer fighters and Iraqi security forces looted possessions of civilians who fled fighting during the onslaught on Amirli; burned homes and businesses of the villages' Sunni residents; and used explosives and heavy equipment to destroy individual buildings or entire villages. The

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

documented the abduction of 11 men in the course of the government's operation, but local residents said many other men of fighting age had gone missing.

References

Conflicts in 2014 Amirli 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 United States Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving Quds Force Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the Peshmerga Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving Australia Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the Popular Mobilization Forces Battles in 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Amirli, Siege of

Events

Siege

Military efforts

Aftermath

See also

References