Disputed territories of Northern Iraq in the context of "Constitution of Iraq"

The Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous federal region of the Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurdish-majority governorates of 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; 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 (in Erbil) and the Government of Iraq (in Baghdad) to the present day. The Kurdistan Region Parliament is based in Erbil, the capital of KRI.

In June 2014, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL), which had controlled a large portion of Northeastern Syria at that time during the Syrian civil war, launched a full-scale invasion of Iraq, capturing a large swath of territory extending all the way from the Iraq–Syria border to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad. The invasion came after months of clashes in Anbar province, where tribal groups, and some extremist factions—which had pledged allegiance to ISIL—had been fighting Iraqi government forces in the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi following a series of anti-government protests. The offensive led to the occupation of 40% of Iraq’s territory by the Islamic State, the collapse of several elements of the then-corrupt Iraqi Army and the genocides and mass killings of various religious groups, such as the Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims (who form a majority in the country). This event led to the intervention of Iran and the United States in assisting Iraq in its conflict with the Islamic State, with the latter providing assistance to both Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and its allies captured several cities and surrounding territory, beginning with an attack on Samarra on 4 June, followed by the seizure of Mosul on 10 June, and Tikrit on 11 June. As Iraqi government forces fled south on 13 June, Kurdistan Regional Government force's took control of the oil hub of Kirkuk, part of the disputed territories of Northern Iraq.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; Kurdish: یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, romanized: Yekêtîy Nîştimanîy Kurdistan) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describes its goals as self-determination, human rights, democracy and peace for the Kurdish people of Kurdistan and Iraq. The PUK is currently under the leadership of Bafel Talabani. The PUK was founded in 1975 by Adel Murad, Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum, Ali Askari and Abdul Razaq Feyli Dawood Mohammed Ali. All presidents of Iraq under the 2005 constitution have been from this party.

Khanaqin (Arabic: خانقين; Kurdish: خانەقین, romanized: Xaneqîn) is the central city of Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, near the Iranian border (8 km) on the Alwand tributary of the Diyala River. The town is populated by Kurds who speak the Southern Kurdish dialect. Khanaqin is situated on the main road which Shia pilgrims use when visiting holy Islamic cities. The city is rich in oil, and the first Iraqi oil refinery and oil pipeline was built nearby in 1927. The main tribes of Khanaqin include Kalhor, Feyli, Zand, Malekshahi Suramiri, Arkavazi and Zangana.

The city experienced Arabization during the Saddam era, but this has been substantially reversed after the fall of the regime in 2003 and remains disputed.