Nineveh Governorate | |
---|---|
Governorate | |
Coordinates: 36°0′N 42°28′E / 36.000°N 42.467°ECoordinates: 36°0′N 42°28′E / 36.000°N 42.467°E | |
Country | Iraq |
Capital | Mosul |
Occupation of part | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
Government | |
• Governor | Nofal Hammadi (al-Nahetha) |
Area | |
• Total | 37,323 km2 (14,410 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 3,270,422 |
• Density | 88/km2 (230/sq mi) |
Nineveh Governorate (Arabic: نینوى) is a governorate in northern Iraq that contains the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. It was an integral part of Assyria from the 25th century BC to the 7th century AD, It has an area of 37,323 km2 (14,410 sq mi) and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient Nineveh. Tal Afar is the second-biggest city. Before 1976, it was called Mosul Province and included the present-day Dohuk Governorate.
An ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse region, it has been subject to attacks by the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, with Mosul being captured on 10 June 2014, and many places of worship and historic ruins and monuments destroyed. A massive offensive to retake the city, dubbed Operation "We Are Coming, Nineveh" (قادمون يا نينوى; Qadimun Ya Naynawa), began in October 2016.
Its two cities endured the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and emerged unscathed. In 2004, Mosul and Tal Afar were fierce between US-led Iraqi insurgency. The insurgents moved to Nineveh after the Battle of Fallujah in 2004.
After the invasion, the military of the province was led by (then Major General) David Petraeus of the 101st Airborne Division and later by (then Brigadier General) Carter Ham as the multi-national brigade for Iraq. During the American civil head of the local office of the Coalition Provisional Authority was a US Foreign Service Officer and former Kurdish refugee to the States. Mustafa administered her nominees on the provincial council and through members of the Kashmoula family.