Iraq consists of 18 governorates, also known as "provinces". Per the Iraqi constitution, governorates can form an autonomous region. Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok, constitute the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Baghdad and Basra are the oldest standing provinces of Iraq. The second most-populous province, Ninawa is in the upland and quite cool climate of the north-west.
Kata'ib Hezbollah —or the Hezbollah Brigades—is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces backed by Iran. During the Iraq War (2003–11), the group fought against Coalition forces. It has been active in the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and the Syrian civil war (2011–present). The group was commanded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed in a US drone attack in 2020. Thereafter, he was replaced by Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi, as the new leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The KH militia seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region. It takes a central part in carrying out attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. Kata'ib Hezbollah is directly subordinate to IRGC's Quds Force and operates under its instructions and guidance.
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network, is a radical Iraqi Shi'a political party and paramilitary group active in the Iraqi insurgency and Syrian Civil War. During the Iraq War it was known as Iraq's largest "Special Group", and was since 2016 part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Brigades, cooperating with the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.
Neaman Salman Mansour al-Zaidi, known as Abu Suleiman al-Naser, was the military commander or "War Minister" of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) during the Iraq War.
The Al Anbar governorate election of 2013 was held on 20 June 2013 alongside elections for Nineveh.
The Northern Iraq offensive began on 4 June 2014, when the Islamic State began a major offensive from its territory in Syria into Iraq against Iraqi and Kurdish forces, following earlier clashes that had begun in December 2013 involving guerillas.
Alwiya al-Furqan is an independent Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. It claimed to be the largest Islamist rebel faction that operated in the eastern Quneitra Governorate and Damascus. The group also held ties to Jordan which allowed fighters from the group to cross into the country to receive medical aid. During a sermon the group's leader stated that the Syrian opposition was building a Caliphate in Syria, that the rebels should emulate the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions in doing so.
This is a timeline of events during the War in Iraq in 2015.
The fall of Mosul occurred between 4 and 10 June 2014, when Islamic State insurgents, initially led by Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, captured Mosul from the Iraqi Army, led by Lieutenant General Mahdi Al-Gharrawi.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of approximately 67 different armed factions, with around 230,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups. The Popular Mobilization Units as a group was formed in 2014 and have fought in nearly every major battle against ISIL. It has been called the new Iraqi Republican Guard after it was fully reorganized in early 2018 by its then–Commander in Chief Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, who issued "regulations to adapt the situation of the Popular Mobilization fighters".
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, officially the 12th Brigade is a radical Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the IRGC's Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members. The militia is also supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. It is part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group of Shi’ite militias that are close to Iran. The Nujaba Movement adopts the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and regards Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as its supreme leader. The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel U.S. and allied forces from the country, and advance Iranian interests throughout the Middle East.
Qayyarah or Qayara is an Iraqi town located in southern Nineveh Governorate on the west bank of the Tigris river, and about 60 km south of Mosul. It is located in the Mosul District, and it is the seat of Qayyarah subdistrict. It has a population of 15,000. The town is located near the Qayyarah oil field and has an oil refinery on its south-western outskirts. The Qayyarah Airfield West is 20 kilometers west of the town.
The Conquering Lion of God Forces of Iraq and the Levant, more commonly known by its original name or simply LAAG, was a Shia Muslim militant group operating throughout Syria and Iraq. It was named after the title of Imam Ali.
The Battle of al-Yaarubiyah was fought in late October 2013 at al-Yaarubiyah, a strategically important town at the border of Syria with Iraq. Affiliates of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), namely the YPG/YPJ and local Arab tribes, attacked the settlement in an attempt to capture it from Jihadist and Islamist groups, led by the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. After four days of heavy fighting, the Islamists were defeated and expelled from al-Yaarubiyah.
During the course of the Battle of Mosul (2016–17), an international coalition, primarily composed of the Iraqi Army, Kurdish Peshmerga, CJTF–OIR, along with the allied Popular Mobilization Forces, Company A, 2-502 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, captured Mosul from the Islamic State, which had used Mosul as the capital for the Iraqi half of its "caliphate".
The Western Anbar offensive (2017) was a military operation by the Iraqi Army against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in the western districts of the Province of Anbar and on the border with Syria.
Saraya al-Jihad or as the Popular Mobilization Forces' 17th Brigade is an Iraqi Shia group and the armed wing of the Jihad and Development Movement, operating in Iraq and Syria under the command of the Popular Mobilization Forces. It has been closely intertwined with Liwa al-Muntazar.
The 2021–22 Iraq FA Cup was the 32nd edition of the Iraqi knockout football cup as a clubs-only competition, the main domestic cup in Iraqi football, featuring a record 168 clubs from the top four tiers of the Iraqi football league system,. The competition began on 10 September 2021 with the first-round matches involving teams from the third and fourth tiers, and the final was played on 16 July 2022 at Al-Madina Stadium in Baghdad.
Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, probably born Nour Karim al-Mutni Al-Obaidi Al-Rifai, was an Iraqi militant and the third caliph of the Islamic State. He was named as caliph on 10 March 2022, in an audio message by the new spokesperson of IS, Abu Umar al-Muhajir, whose announcement came more than a month after the death of his predecessor Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. The message said that Abu al-Hassan was given a pledge of allegiance in response to the will of the former caliph. The Turkish government claimed that he was arrested in Istanbul on 26 May 2022. Later, Islamic State sources denied news reports of his arrest in the 347th issue of their weekly newsletter Al-Naba.
Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi Sport Club, is an Iraqi football team based in Baghdad, that plays in the Iraq Division Two.
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Iran 
United States 
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Ansar al-Islam 
Tahrir al-Sham 
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 
