Amirli ( ar, آمرلي, ʾĀmirlī; tr, Emirli) also spelt Amerli, is a predominantly
Shia Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
town in
Saladin Governorate,
Iraq, approximately 100 km from the Iranian border. It is the centre of a farming region.
History
2007 bombing
On June 7, 2007, a bombing in the marketplace of Amirli killed 165 people and injured 350.
2014 siege by ISIS
The town, and its nearly 20,000
Shia Turkmen, was besieged by the
ISIL starting in June 2014. It was running out of food, water, and supplies. A U.N. representative stated, "The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens."
On August 31, the
Iraqi army
The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...
, with help from the United States and
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, managed to break the siege and entered the city, much to the rejoicing of its citizens.
[
] Iran had reportedly played a "military planning" role in breaking siege of Amirli.
References
Populated places in Saladin Governorate
Turkmen communities in Iraq
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