During the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, jihadist troops of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of the monastery. The troops removed crosses from the monastery, threatened monks with execution and then expelled the monks with nothing but the clothes on their backs. On March 19, 2015, Islamic State released photos showing the blowing up of the historic tomb of Saint Behnam. After more than 2 years of occupation, the monastery and its surrounding area was liberated by Iraqi Security Forces on November 20, 2016.