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Qahtaniyah Bombings
The Qahtaniyah bombings occurred on August 14, 2007, when four coordinated suicide car bomb attacks detonated in the Yazidi towns of Til Ezer (al-Qahtaniyah) and Siba Sheikh Khidir (al-Jazirah), in northern Iraq. 796 people were killed and at least 1,500 others were wounded, making it the Iraq War's deadliest car bomb attack. It is also the fourth deadliest act of terrorism in world history, after the September 11 attacks in the United States, the Camp Speicher massacre, also in Iraq, and the October 7th attack in Israel. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks. Tensions and background For several months leading up to the attack, tensions had been building up in the area, particularly between Yazidis and Sunni Muslims (both Arabs and Kurds). Some Yazidis living in the area received threatening letters calling them " infidels". Leaflets were also distributed denouncing Yazidis as "anti-Islamic" and warning them that an attack was imminent. The attack was possibly c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist Iraq, Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict persisted Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), as an insurgency arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2007–2011), were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present), Islamic State insurgency. The Iraq invasion was part of the Presidency of George W. Bush, Bush administration's broader war on terror, launched in response to the September 11 attacks. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islam In Iraq
Islam in Iraq has a rich complicated history that has come to be over almost 1,400 years, since the Prophet Muhammad lived and died in 632 CE. As one of the first places in the world to accept Islam, Iraq is mostly Muslim nation, with about 98% of the people identifying as Muslim. There are the two main branches of Islam in Iraq: Shia Islam, which is practiced by about 61% of Muslims and Sunni Islam, which is practiced by about 35%. Baghdad, which was once the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and a center of Islamic scholarship, is one of the most important religious cities in Iraq. It is very important to both Shia and Sunni communities. The Kadhimiya neighborhood in Baghdad is famous for having the shrines of two important Shia Imams. Karbala, on the other hand, is respected for being the site of the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, which had a significant impact on Shia beliefs and practices. The tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam and the fourth caliph, is in Najaf, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peshmerga
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 ( security and counterterrorism service), and the '' Parastin û Zanyarî'' (intelligence agency). 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. Formally, the Peshmerga are under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In practice, however, the Peshmerga's structure is largely divided and controlled separately by the two Iraqi Kurdish political parties: the Democr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdistan Region
Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Duhok Governorate, and Halabja Governorate. It is located in northern Iraq, which shares borders with Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and Syria to the west. It does not govern all of Iraqi Kurdistan and lays claim to the disputed territories of Northern Iraq, disputed territories of northern Iraq; these territories have a predominantly non-Arab population and were subject to the Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in northern Iraq, 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 (in Erbil) and the Federal government of Iraq, Government of I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plebiscite
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advisory (functioning like a large-scale opinion poll). Etymology 'Referendum' is the gerundive form of the Latin verb , literally "to carry back" (from the verb , "to bear, bring, carry" plus the inseparable prefix , here meaning "back"Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p. 469.). As a gerundive is an adjective,A gerundive is a verbal adjective (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) not a noun, it cannot be used alone in Latin, and must be contained within a context attached to a noun such as , "A proposal which must be carried back to the people". The addition of the verb (3rd person singular, ) to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which "must" be done, rather than that which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen (, عراق تورکمنلری; Arabic: تركمان العراق), also referred to as Iraqi Turks, (, عراق توركلری; ) are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq. They make up to 10%–13% of the Iraqi population. Iraqi Turkmens are descendants of Turkish people, Turkish settlers from the time of Ottoman Iraq, and are closely related to Syrian Turkmen, Syrian Turkmens and Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani people. Turkmen in Iraq do not closely identify with the traditionally-nomadic Turkmens of Central Asia and Iran.: "Turkmen, Iraqi citizens of Turkmen seljukh origin, are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds and they are said to number about 3 million of Iraq's 34.7 million citizens according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning." Ethnonyms According to Iraqi Turkmen scholar Professor Suphi Saatçi, prior to the mid-20th century the Turkmens in Iraq were known simply as "Turks". It was not until after the military coup of 14 July 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assyrians
Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from other Mesopotamian groups, such as the Babylonians, they share in the broader cultural heritage of the Mesopotamian region. Modern Assyrians may culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious, geographic, and tribal identification. Assyrians speak various dialects of Neo-Aramaic, specifically those known as Suret and Turoyo, which are among the oldest continuously spoken and written languages in the world. Aramaic was the lingua franca of West Asia for centuries and was the language spoken by Jesus. It has influenced other languages such as Hebrew and Arabic, and, through cultural and religious exchanges, it has had some influence on Mongolian and Uighur. Aramaic itself is the oldest continuously spoken and wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinjar
Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History Antiquity In the 2nd century AD, Sinjar became a military base called Singara and part of the Roman ''Limes (Roman Empire), limes''. It remained part of the Roman Empire until it was sacked by the Sasanian Empire, Sasanians in 360. Starting in the late 5th century, the Sinjar Mountains, mountains around Sinjar became an abode of the Banu Taghlib, an Arab tribe. At the beginning of 6th century, a tribe called Qadišaiē (Kαδίσηνοι), who were of either Kurdish or Arab origin, dwelt there. The Qadišaye practiced idolatry. According to the early Islamic literary sources, Singara had long been a bone of contention between the Sasanian and Byzantine Empire, Byzantine empires and several times switched hands between the two empires. A 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
April 2007 Mosul Massacre
The April 2007 Yazidi massacre was a massacre of Yazidis that took place on April 22, 2007, in Mosul, in northern Iraq. Massacre At around 2PM (GMT+3), a bus carrying workers from the Mosul Textile Factory en route to Bashiqa, Al-Hamdaniya District was stopped by cars owned by unidentified attackers. With the bus now stationary, the attackers got on, and checked the passengers' identity cards. According to Iraqi Police, Iraqi police, after checking their identification, the armed gunmen told the Muslims, Muslim and Christians, Christian passengers to get off the bus. They then drove the bus to eastern Mosul with 23 remaining passengers, all Yazidis, where the hostages were made to lie face down in front of a wall and shot, execution-style. Reactions According to ''The New York Times'', hundreds of Yazidis from Bashiqa gathered in the street to protest the killings. See also *Qahtaniyah bombings, later that same year in August 2007 *Genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Protestant Christianity to Roman Catholicism or from Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam to Sunni Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals". People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs, secondary conversion, deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience, marital conversion, and forced conversion. Religious conversion can also be driven by practical considerations. Historically, people have converted to evade taxes, to escape military service or to gain political representation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoned To Death
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. Stoning appears to have been the standard method of capital punishment in ancient Israel. Its use is attested in the early Christian era, but Jewish courts generally avoided stoning sentences in later times. Only a few isolated instances of legal stoning are recorded in pre-modern history of the Islamic world. In recent decades several states have inserted stoning and other ''hudud'' (pl. of ''hadd'') punishments into their penal codes under the influence of Islamist movements. These laws hold particular importance for religious conservatives due to their scriptural origin, though in practice they have played a largely symbolic role and tended to fall into disuse. The Torah and Talmud prescribe stoning as punishment for a number of offenses. Over the cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder Of Du'a Khalil Aswad
Du'a Khalil Aswad (دعاء خليل أسود) (c. 1989 – c. 7 April 2007) was a 17-year-old Iraqi Yazidi girl who was stoned to death in Bashiqa, Nineveh, northern Iraq in early April 2007, in an honor killing. Her killers accused her of dishonoring her family and religion. The rumors that she was stoned for converting to Islam prompted reprisals against Yazidis by Sunnis, including the 2007 Mosul massacre.Survivors of bombs left to die in rubble by Ayhem Omar, '''', 19 August 2007 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
