On 9 June 2014, the airport was captured by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as part of the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive. Satellite images taken on 31 October 2016 shows that the airport runways have been damaged, with wide trenches carved into them and rubble placed along their lengths, according to Stratfor. Taxiways and aprons have also been sabotaged by ISIL militants. The airport was retaken by the Iraqi government in an effort spearheaded by the Federal Police on 23 February 2017.