Sulaymaniyah or Slemani, is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Baranan Mountain in the south and the Tasluja Hills in the west. The city has a semi-arid climate with very hot dry summers and cold wet winters.
Kurdistan Region is an autonomous administrative entity within the Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurdish-majority divisions of Arab-majority Iraq: the Erbil Governorate, the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, the Duhok Governorate, and Halabja Governorate. The KRI is bordered by Iran to the east, by Turkey to the north, and by Syria to the west. It does not govern all of Iraqi Kurdistan, and lays claim to the disputed territories of northern Iraq; these territories have a predominantly non-Arab population and were subject to the Ba'athist Arabization campaigns throughout the late 20th century. Though the KRI's autonomy was realized in 1992, one year after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War, these northern territories remain contested between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Iraq to the present day. In light of the dispute, the KRI's constitution declares the city of Kirkuk as the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. However, the KRI does not control Kirkuk, and the Kurdistan Region Parliament is based in Erbil. In 2014, when the Syria-based Islamic State began their Northern Iraq offensive and invaded the country, the Iraqi Armed Forces retreated from most of the disputed territories. The KRI's Peshmerga then entered and took control of them for the duration of the War in Iraq (2013–2017). In October 2017, following the defeat of the Islamic State, the Iraqi Armed Forces attacked the Peshmerga and reasserted control over the disputed territories.
Adham Osman Ahmad Barzani is a Kurdish politician and former member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament.
Masoud Barzani is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017.
Chamchamal is a town located in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Controlled by Kurdistan, it is the town which is nearest located to the disputed territories of Northern Iraq. Chamchamal is home to the Gorani-speaking Hamawand tribe.
Prostitution in Iraq is illegal. The Iraqi penal code outlaws prostitution, with the pimp, the prostitute and the client all being liable for criminal penalties. Punishment can be severe, including life imprisonment.
The Gorran Movement or just Gorran (Change) is a Kurdish political party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Formerly under the leadership of Omar Said Ali, it was founded in 2009 by Nawshirwan Mustafa. Gorran is the sixth largest party in the Kurdistan Region, having lost almost all of its voters (95%) since its foundation, and is now no longer represented in the Iraqi parliament.
Nawshirwan Mustafa was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the General Coordinator of the Movement for Change and the leader of the opposition in the Kurdistan Region from 1 April 2009 to his death on 19 May 2017.
Hikmat Muhammad Karim, known as Mala Bakhtiyar or Mala Bakhtiar, is a prominent political leader and senior Iraqi Kurdish politician. He is a commander and General of the Kurdish PUK Peshmerga forces and is considered one of the most powerful people in Iraq. Mala Bakhtiar previously served as the chief of the Executive Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Currently, he is the joint leader of the Supreme Political Council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), alongside Kosrat Rasul Ali.
The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars, rebellions and disputes between the Kurds and the central authority of Iraq starting in the 20th century shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Some put the marking point of the conflict beginning to the attempt by Mahmud Barzanji to establish an independent Kingdom of Kurdistan, while others relate to the conflict as only the post-1961 insurrection by the Barzanis.
The 2011 Kurdish protests in Iraq were a series of demonstrations and riots against the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan. The autonomous region experienced protests that were concurrent with the 2011 Iraqi protests and the wider Arab Spring. The Iraqi Kurdish protests were also related to the 2011 Kurdish protests in Turkey and the 2011–2012 Iranian protests, as well as the civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War.
The disputed territories of northern Iraq are regions defined by article 140 of the Constitution of Iraq as being Arabised during Baath Party rule in Iraq. Most of these regions are inhabited by non-Arabs, including Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis, Turkmens/Turkomans, and Shabaks.
Soran Mama Hama was a reporter for Lvin magazine in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was shot by unidentified gunmen and died in Kirkuk at approximately 9 p.m. on July 21, 2008, in the suburban Kirkuk neighborhood of Shorija. Hama's death remains unsolved. It is believed that he was the victim of corrupt police and government personnel, which he had previously reported on.
Kurdistan Region–Palestine relations covers the diplomatic, political, and cultural relations between the semi-autonomous Region of Kurdistan Region with the Palestinian Authority (1994–2012) and the State of Palestine.
Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) is a media network in the Kurdistan Region. It was formed in 2010 by freelance journalists who launched the first ever independent media network, funded by Nalia company.
The Battle of Kirkuk took place in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq between Kurdistan and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On the night of January 29, around 150 ISIL fighters attacked positions south and west of the city of Kirkuk, Iraq, which were temporarily under the control of the Peshmerga. The ISIL offensive began under the cover of dense fog and succeeded in overwhelming Peshmerga positions and seizing the towns of Mala Abdullah, Maryam Beg, Tel Ward and the Maktab Khalid crossing. Parts of the Khabbaz oil fields were also captured, taking 24 workers hostage. At least 25 Peshmerga fighters died including Brig. Gen. Sherko Shwani, commander of the 1st Brigade and the highest ranking head of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk. Gen. Sherko Shwani was killed after being trapped and shot by attackers, according to another Peshmerga commander. Around 16 other Peshmerga fighters were captured by ISIL, and later killed in a staged execution.
Mohammed Haji Mahmoud is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and leader of the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party. He is widely known in Kurdistan as 'Kaka Hama' and gained a reputation for bravery fighting against Saddam Hussein's forces in the 1980s. More recently, he has led a Peshmerge force in the fight against Islamic State.
The Battle of Kirkuk (2017), part of the 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, was a military deployment by the Iraqi Security Forces to retake Kirkuk Governorate from the Peshmerga after the latter ignored repeated warnings to withdraw, sparking clashes between the two forces. The advance began on 15 October 2017, with the city of Kirkuk being retaken the following day. Iraqi central government forces continued their advances in subsequent days, routing the Peshmerga forces across vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq.
The Tanjaro, also spelled Tanjero, is a river in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. It arises near the city Sulaymaniyah through the confluence of the rivers Kiliasan and Kani-Ban and flows into the Darbandikhan Dam reservoir after 58 kilometers.
