Sunday, October 29, 2017

Shelling near the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum

MORE FIGHTING: ANCIENT TOMB OF JEWISH PROPHET 'IN DANGER' AMID IRAQ-KURDISH TENSIONS. The origin of the tomb is often said to date back 2,700 years (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post).
The tomb of the Prophet Nahum, which overlooks the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq, is now near the forefront of tensions between the Iraqi federal government and Kurdistan Regional Government.

Since last week Iraqi forces, including Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias, have been fighting with Peshmerga in an attempt by Baghdad to push Kurdish forces out of disputed areas and take oil fields and strategic border areas from the Kurds. Although a cease-fire took effect on Friday, tensions remain high.

Shelling in a Christian town near the Jewish tomb is the latest in years of turmoil that have affected the site.

The tomb is in the ancient Christian town of Al-Qosh, inside a complex that also served as a synagogue and has partly collapsed over the years. The Jewish community of this area of northern Iraq and Kurdistan left in the 1940s and 1950s.

[...]
I am sorry to hear that, even with ISIS now in retreat, there is still fighting in the region.

Background on the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum and its precarious situation is here and links

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