Kurdistan

Artillery belonging to Iraqi army are seen southwest of Kirkuk, Iraq, October 17, 2017.

Iraq forces take oil fields dashing Kurdish dreams

Iraqi forces took control of the two largest oil fields in the disputed northern province of Kirkuk on Tuesday demolishing Kurdish hopes of creating a viable independent state.

Iraq forces take oil fields dashing Kurdish dreams
Members of Iraqi federal forces drive along desert roads in Kirkuk with Iraqi flags flying.

Iraqi forces seize territory from Kurds in independence dispute

Iraqi forces seize territory from Kurds in independence dispute
Kurds celebrate to show their support for the upcoming independence referendum in Erbil, in nothern Iraq.

Iraq's Supreme Court orders suspension of Kurdish independence referendum

Iraq's Supreme Court orders suspension of Kurdish independence referendum
Children play with a kite at a shelter for displaced Yazidis on Mount Sinjar, northern Iraq.

Years after US Iraq intervention, Yazidis are still seeking safety on a mountain

Years after US Iraq intervention, Yazidis are still seeking safety on a mountain
Capt. Khatoon Khider, left, commander of the all-female Yazidi Sun Brigade, with her sister, Aliya, in a home near the city of Dohuk, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on Sept. 24.

These Yazidi sisters took up arms to take revenge against ISIS

These Yazidi sisters took up arms to take revenge against ISIS
The Save Kobani Facebook page. Facebook routinely takes down its posts.

After battling ISIS, Kurds find new foe in Facebook

Sweden may seem far removed from the conflict in Iraq and Syria, but for a group of Kurdish Swedes, the battle is real — on Facebook.

After battling ISIS, Kurds find new foe in Facebook
Residents of Erbil buy groceries in a local market.

Just 60 miles from ISIS, youth bowl, swim, see George Clooney in 'Tomorrowland'

ISIS-controlled Mosul is just two hours away from the Iraqi city of Erbil. But youth in the Kurdish capital aren't cowering. Instead they are swimming, bowling and enjoying new movies and Chinese restaurants.

Just 60 miles from ISIS, youth bowl, swim, see George Clooney in 'Tomorrowland'
Dean Parker, a commercial housepainter and avid surfer from Florida, traveled to northern Iraq to fight with the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIS.

Meet the surfing grandfather from Florida who helped the Kurds fight ISIS

One day, Dean Parker was watching the news on TV. The next he was packing up body armor and preparing to fight with Kurdish forces against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Now he's looking for a flight home — and knows he has some explaining to do to the FBI and Homeland Security.

Meet the surfing grandfather from Florida who helped the Kurds fight ISIS
The main atrium of this would-be mall is now home to hundreds of Iraqis from villages outside Mosul. Here the concrete floors and walls give families more protection than the displaced families living in tents in a public park just across the street.

Erbil's abandoned construction sites are a 'saving grace' for refugees

Just a few months ago, Erbil — the de-facto capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdish region — was riding high on an economic oil and gas boom. That all came to a halt when ISIS militants took over nearby Mosul. Now those half-finished buildings are home to displaced Iraqi families.

Erbil's abandoned construction sites are a 'saving grace' for refugees
Jiyayi Suleyman, 26, is Nashville’s first Kurdish American police officer. “I took this job to bridge the gap between not only the Kurdish community but the Muslim community with the police department,” Suleyman says. “I wanted to be that one guy that mak

Take a ride-along with Nashville’s first Kurdish American cop

Had things been a little different, Jiyayi Suleyman might have been a peshmerga fighter alongside his uncle and other Kurdish troops. Instead he's a police office in Nashville trying to keep the city's residents there safe.

Take a ride-along with Nashville’s first Kurdish American cop
Female fighters from Colonel Nahida's peshmerga battalion view the front lines with ISIS.

Meet the female colonel leading Kurdish forces into battle against ISIS

Nahida Ahmed Rashid began her military career years ago, fighting for the Kurdish separatist cause. Now she's the highest-ranking woman in the Kurdish peshmerga and squaring off with her troops against Islamic militants who've taken northern Iraq by storm.

Meet the female colonel leading Kurdish forces into battle against ISIS

In Kurdish Iraq, the fight against ISIS isn't just for men

The Kurdish militia known as the peshmerga has stepped in to fight ISIS in many parts of northern Iraq. And hundreds of women have joined as fighters, with the support of their families and community.

In Kurdish Iraq, the fight against ISIS isn't just for men