Al-Hadar

Al-Hadar is an Iraqi city located 80 km southwest of Mosul. It is believed that the city was founded at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. It currently serves as the administrative center of Al-Hadar District in Nineveh Governorate.
The ancient ruins of Hatra lie 2 km northwest of the modern settlement. The settlement's population and nearby villages greatly shrank by 2012 due to deforestation.
On April 26, 2017, the ruins were recaptured by Iraqi soldiers and PMF militia forces from Islamic State terrorists who had previously captured the area encompassing the ancient city along the course of their illegal occupation of Iraqi territories in early 2014.

Capture and destruction of Hatra

On 8 March 2015, the Islamic State destroyed parts of the ancient city of Hatra using bulldozers. This act was considered a crime against Iraqi heritage. Reuters reported that local residents heard a massive explosion early in the morning, while others stated that the Islamic State destroyed some of Hatra’s largest buildings using bulldozers.