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Kirkuk is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Citadel which sits near the Khasa River.
Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second-largest city in Iraq, by population and area, after the capital, Baghdad. Mosul lies approximately 400 km (250 mi) north of Baghdad on the Tigris River. The Mosul metro area has grown from the old city on the western side to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Bank" and the "Right Bank", as locals call the two respective sides of the Tigris. The city encloses the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh – once the largest city in the world – on its east side.
Nineveh Governorate or Mosul Governorate is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of 37,323 km2 (14,410 sq mi) and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003.
Human rights in post-invasion Iraq have been a subject of concern and controversy since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Issues have been raised regarding the conduct of insurgents, U.S.-led coalition forces, and the Iraqi government. The United States is investigating several allegations of violations of international and domestic standards of conduct in isolated incidents involving its forces and contractors. Similarly, the United Kingdom is conducting investigations into alleged human rights abuses by its forces. War crime tribunals and criminal prosecutions for numerous crimes committed by insurgents are likely still years away. In late February 2009, the U.S. State Department released a report on the human rights situation in Iraq, reflecting on developments during the previous year (2008).
The Peshmerga are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as police, security forces, and guards of the region". Other Kurdish security agencies include the Zêrevanî (gendarmerie), Asayish, and the Parastin û Zanyarî. The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century, when they began as a tribal paramilitary border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid kurds. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.
Tesqopa or Tel Skuf, also Tel Eskof or Tall Asqaf is a town in northern Iraq located approximately 19 miles north of Mosul. The town is populated by Assyrians and they are members of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Bartella is a town that is located in the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq, about 21 kilometres east of Mosul.
Qaraqosh is an Assyrian city in the Nineveh Governorate, of Iraq located about 32 kilometres (20 mi) southeast of the city of Mosul and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Erbil amid agricultural lands, close to the ruins of the ancient Assyrian cities Kalhu and Nineveh.
Iraqi Assyrians are an ethnic and linguistic minority group, indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia. They are defined as Assyrians residing in the country of Iraq, or members of the Assyrian diaspora who are of Iraqi-Assyrian heritage. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Iran, Turkey and Syria, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora elsewhere. A significant number have emigrated to the United States, notably to the Detroit and Chicago; sizeable communities are also found in Sydney, Australia and Södertälje, Sweden.
Minorities in Iraq have been incredibly influential to the history of the country, and consist of various ethnic and religious groups. The largest minority group in Iraq is the Kurds, with Turkmen following shortly after. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Assyrians constituted a sizeable population of 1.5 million, and belonged to various different churches such as the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syriac Orthodox/Catholic Churches. Other minority groups in Iraq include Armenians, Mandaeans, Baha'i, and Marsh Arabs, among others.
Iraqi Armenians are Iraqi citizens and residents of Armenian ethnicity. Many Armenians settled in Iraq after fleeing the 1915 Armenian genocide. It is estimated that there are 10,000–20,000 Armenians living in Iraq, with communities in Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, Kirkuk, Baqubah, Dohuk, Zakho and Avzrog.
Nineveh Plains is a region in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq, to the north and east of the city Mosul. Control over the region is contested between Iraqi security forces, KRG security forces, Assyrian security forces, Babylon Brigade and the Shabak Militia.
Ain Sifni also known as Shekhan, is a town and subdistrict in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. It is located in the Shekhan District in the Nineveh Plains. Ain Sifni is largely populated by Yazidis, most of whom speak Kurmanji Kurdish.
The vast majority of Christians in Iraq are indigenous Assyrians who descend from ancient Assyria, and are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. They primarily adhere to the Syriac Christian tradition and rites and speak Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects, although Turoyo is also present on a smaller scale. Some are also known by the name of their religious denomination as well as their ethnic identity, such as Chaldo-Assyrians, Chaldean Catholics or Syriacs. Non-Assyrian Iraqi Christians include Arab Christians and Armenians, and a very small minority of Kurdish, Shabaks and Iraqi Turkmen Christians. Regardless of religious affiliation Assyrians Christians in Iraq and surrounding countries are one genetically homogeneous people and are of different origins than other groups in the country, with a distinct history of their own harking back to ancient Assyria and Mesopotamia.
Paulos Faraj Rahho was a Chaldean Catholic prelate who served as the Archeparch of Mosul in the northern part of Iraq from 2001 until his death in 2008 at the hands of terrorists.
The Nineveh Governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk Governorate.
Bashiqa is a town situated at the heart of the Nineveh plain, between Mosul and Sheikhan, on the edges of Mount Maqlub.
The War in Iraq (2013–2017) was an armed conflict between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State. Following December 2013, the insurgency escalated into a full-scale civil war following clashes in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in parts of western Iraq, and culminated in the Islamic State offensive into Iraq in June 2014, which lead to the capture of the cities of Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in western and northern Iraq by the Islamic State. Between 4–9 June 2014, the city of Mosul was attacked and later fell; following this, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. Ali Ghaidan, a former military commander in Mosul, accused al-Maliki of being the one who issued the order to withdraw from the city of Mosul. At its height, ISIL held 56,000 square kilometers of Iraqi territory, containing 4.5 million citizens.
Between 1 and 15 August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) expanded territory in northern Iraq under their control. In the region north and west from Mosul, the Islamic State conquered Zumar, Sinjar, Wana, Mosul Dam, Qaraqosh, Tel Keppe, Batnaya and Kocho, and in the region south and east of Mosul the towns Bakhdida, Karamlish, Bartella and Makhmour
The occupation of Mosul by the Islamic State began after the fall of Mosul when Islamic State fighters took control of the city on 10 June 2014. Mosul was a strategically important city for the Islamic State and was a target by anti-Islamic State forces. Over the course of battles in 2015 and 2016–2017, the Iraqi Armed Forces, aided by Peshmerga and CJTF–OIR forces, fully liberated Mosul by 21 July 2017.
References
- ↑ سبعة ضحايا بانفجار استهدف كنيسة "مار توما " وسط الموصل. al-Mada (in Arabic). 12 December 2009. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "At least 15 killed in Iraq church blasts". Sydney Morning Herald . 3 August 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho: The Times obituary". The Times . 14 March 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "Thousands of Christians flee Iraq city". CNN . 16 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "Spokesman: Shooter in Iraqi uniform kills U.S. troops". CNN . 12 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- 1 2 "Iraq pledges $900K to help displaced Christians". CNN . 2 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "Fleeing Christians Face New Hardships in Turkey". Compass Direct News. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ "Attacks in Mosul force Christians to flee". NBC News . 10 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ National Public Radio – 'Some Displaced Iraqi Christians Ponder Kurds' Role' https://www.npr.org/2008/10/28/96103301/some-displaced-iraqi-christians-ponder-kurds-role
- ↑ Iraqi_MP_Peshmerga_-_not_al-Qaeda_-_targeting_Christians_in_Mosul_ http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1319626&lang=EN%5B%5D
- ↑ "Kurdish expansion squeezes northern Iraq's minorities | McClatchy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ↑ "Sound journalism, grounded in facts and biblical truth".
- ↑ "Gulfnews: Provinces in Iraq face different challenges". Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
