Kirkuk after 2003 Kirkuk

iraqi personnel graduate kirkuk

american , british military forces led invasion of iraq in march 2003, driving saddam hussein , ba ath party power. caretaker government created until establishment of democratically elected government.

since april 2003, thousands of internally displaced kurds have returned kirkuk , other arabized regions take homes , lands have since been conquered arabs central , southern iraq.

under supervision of chief executive of coalition provisional authority l. paul bremer, convention held on 24 may 2003 select first city council in history of oil-rich, ethnically divided city. each of city s 4 major ethnic groups invited send 39-member delegation allowed select 6 sit on city council. 6 council members selected among 144 delegates represent independents social groups such teachers, lawyers, religious leaders , artists.

kirkuk s 30 members council made of 5 blocs of 6 members each. 4 of blocs formed along ethnic lines—kurds, arabs, assyrian , turkmen—and fifth made of independents. turkmen , arabs complained kurds allegedly hold 5 of seats in independent block. infuriated representative @ council s helm assistant mayor whom considered pro-kurdish. abdul rahman mustafa (arabic: عبدالرحمن مصطفى‎), baghdad-educated lawyer elected mayor 20 votes 10. appointment of arab, ismail ahmed rajab al hadidi (arabic: اسماعيل احمد رجب الحديدي‎), deputy mayor went way towards addressing arab concerns.

on 30 june 2005, through secret direct voting process, participation of widest communities in province , despite political legal security complexities of process in country , in kirkuk in particular, kirkuk witnessed birth of first elected provincial council. independent electoral commission of iraq ieci approved , announced outcomes of process, filled 41 seats of kirkuk provincial council follows:

26 seats 367 list kirkuk brotherhood list kbl
8 seats 175 list iraqi turkmen front itf
5 seats 299 list iraqi republic gathering
1 seats 178 list turkmen islamic coalition
1 seats 289 list iraqi national gathering

the new kirkuk provincial council started second turn on 6 march 2005. inaugural session dedicated introduction of new members, followed oath ceremony supervised judge thahir hamza salman, head of kirkuk appellate court.

five churches in kirkuk targeted bombs in august 2011

on 12 july 2013, kirkuk hit deadly bomb, killing 38 people in attack on café. blast happened shortly after 22:00 local time (19:00 (gmt). comes after more 40 people died in series of bombings , shootings across iraq, including in kirkuk, on 11 july 2013.

on 12 june 2014, town taken kurdish forces when iraqi army fled following success of isis 2014 northern iraq offensive in securing control of nearby tikrit, neighboring areas in syria.

on 21 october 2016, isil launched multiple attacks in kirkuk divert iraqi military resources during battle of mosul. witnesses reported multiple explosions , gun battles in city, centered on government compound. @ least 11 workers, including several iranians, killed suicide bomber @ power plant in nearby dibis. attack brought end 24 october, 74 militants being killed , others including leader of attackers being arrested.

on 16 october 2017, iraqi national army , pmf militia retook control of kirkuk, had been under kurdish peshmerga control since 2014..