Rushdi Anwar

A small town, north-east of Mosul, Bashiqa was once known for its onion pickles and olive trees. With a population spanning Kurdish Yazidi, Shabak, Assyrian and Arab Muslim, there are records of a diverse community at the site from the 13th century; undoubtedly, Bashiqa’s history stretches back further still, and it remained a tourist destination for Iraqis into the 21st century. Claimed by Kurdistan since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and under the control of the Iraqi federal government, longstanding territory disputes were followed by Islamic State occupation....