Tall Afar (Arabic: تلعفر‎) is a city in Iraq, in the province of Ninewa. Located about 50 km west of Mosul, 200 km northwest of Kirkuk and 60 km from the Syrian border, at an altitude of 405 m above sea level. It is inhabited mainly by Turkomans. The exact population of the city is unknown, in 2007 it is estimated at approximately 80,000 people.
Tal Afar is identified with one of the cities mentioned in the Bible (Telassar). In the 19th century, the famous archaeologist Austin Layard visited the city. In 1920, the city was one of the bases of the anti-British uprising.

Islamic State
On May 14, 2010, a car bomb exploded at the entrance to the football stadium. 10 people died and 120 people were injured. Before the attack, the Islamic State threatened the Shiites that dark bloody days would come. On March 7, 2012, at least 12 people were killed in a car bomb explosion.
On June 16, 2014, the Islamic State occupied the city after a two-day battle.

During the Battle of Mosul in early 2016, Tal Afar was cut off from Mosul. When Mosul fell in July 2017, Tall Afar and the surrounding area became one of the main strongholds of the Islamic State in Iraq. The Tall Afar authorities declared independence from ISIS, but the newly-minted entity could not hold out for a long time.
On August 20, 2017, the Iraqi army announced the start of an offensive against Tall Afar in order to liberate the city. On the same day, the western environs of the city (Abra al-Najjar, Abra Khansh, al-Abra al-Kabira, al-Abra al-Saghir) were occupied. By August 27, the city was completely liberated.