Although Bashiqa and Bahzani are considered to have already been known to
Yezidis as early as 12th century, it seems that it only became part of the Yezidi territory in the 13th century. This is strengthened by the fact that the majority of the mausoleums present here are dedicated to the second generation members of the Shamsani family, whom lived in the second half of the 12th century. Bashiqa is controlled by the Iraqi federal government but claimed by the
Kurdistan Region since the fall of
Saddam Hussein in 2003. According to Article 140 of the
Iraqi constitution, a referendum should decide whether it should continue to be managed by the central government or the KRG. The status of the city is still not fully understood. According to reports by
Human Rights Watch (2011),
UNHCR (2007) and other human rights organizations the townspeople are forced and threatened with violence if they should not vote for inclusion of the city in the Kurdistan Region. In the 13th century, historian, Yaqut al-Hamawi described Bashiqa as a village on the outskirts of Nineveh to the east of the river Tigris which is well known for its olive trees and having a majority Christian population. Bashiqa is the birthplace of the famed
Ezidi Mirza, a 17th century Yezidi leader who became the governor of
Mosul and is mentioned in Yezidi sagas and stories until today for his heroic military achievements against the hostile neighbouring
Muslim tribes. In the town square of Bashiqa,
Du'a Khalil Aswad, a young woman from the Yazidi community who wanted to marry a Muslim, was
stoned to death in 2007 by a large crowd of men in an "
honor killing". As a revenge on the 22 April 2007, Muslim militants stopped a bus in Mosul and killed 23
Yazidis from Bashiqa. In 2012, car bombs went off in the town. In June 2014,
ISIL militants took over the city, and changed the name to Du'a city naming it after
Du'a Khalil Aswad.
Yazidi civilians fled the city in 2014. The region had seen fighting between ISIL and Kurdish
Peshmerga forces, but remained under ISIL control throughout 2015 and most of 2016. Turkish soldiers were deployed in a training mission in the Mosul District in 2015, without authorization of
Baghdad, but with permission of
Iraqi Kurdistan. On 7 November 2016, during the
Battle of Mosul, Kurdish
Peshmerga fighters launched a massive offensive to liberate the town from ISIL control. Peshmerga had surrounded the town for two weeks. There were believed to be 100 to 200 ISIL militants left. Commander
Kaka Hama said the Peshmerga descended from three fronts, and that coalition airstrikes played a large role in the assault. In the early afternoon, it was reported that Bashiqa was liberated and that the Peshmerga were in full control. ==Yazidi holy sites==