The
Sinjar Mountains ; also
Shingal\Shengar Mountains; ) are a mountain range that runs east to west, rising above the surrounding alluvial steppe plains in northwestern
Iraq to an elevation of . The highest segment of these mountains, about long, lies in
Nineveh Governorate, currently partly administered by the
Iraqi Kurdistan. The western and lower segment of these mountains lies in Syria which is about long and controlled by the
de facto autonomous
Syrian Kurdistan. The city of
Sinjar is just south of the range. These mountains are regarded as
sacred by the
Kurds.