Hamam al-Alil (''also: Hammam al-Alil'';

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: حمام العليل "fresh bath") is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

about 27 km south of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

in the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, on the western bank of the

Tigris River The Tigris ( ; see below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging ...

. It is well known for its mineral water springs and receives visitors from all over Iraq seeking treatment due to the various purported medical benefits of the sulfur-rich geothermal waters. In 2019, the authorities undertook renovation works to the Hamam al-Alil baths costing $500,000 that were completed in June 2022.

Recent history

In 2014, Hamam al-Alil was seized by

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

, along with neighbouring Mosul. On 11 February 2014, 15 Iraqi soldiers were killed in a pre-dawn assault on an army camp guarding an oil pipeline near Hamam al-Alil. In July 2016, F16 fighters of the international coalition against ISIL destroyed ISIL's bases in the area. During the

2016 Battle of Mosul Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' (20 ...

the town was attacked by the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

in the final days of October 2016 and reportedly "90 percent surrounded". It was also reported that ISIL executed 42 civilians in the town. A combination of Iraqi, federal police and elite interior ministry forces liberated Hamam al-Alil from ISIL on 7 November 2016.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Populated places in Nineveh Governorate

Recent history

See also

References