Major Cities (in order of population size): Baghdad, Mosul (Al Mawsil), Arbil (Irbil), Kirkuk, Basra (Al Basrah), and Sulaymaniyah (As Sulaymaniyah).

Independence: October 3, 1932, from the British administration established under a 1920 League of Nations mandate. April 9, the date of the fall of Saddam Husayn’s regime in 2003, is the official national holiday.

Public Holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1) and the national holiday (April 9) are celebrated on fixed dates. The following Muslim religious holidays occur on variable dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar: Eid al Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), Islamic New Year, Ashoura (the Shia observance of the martyrdom of Husayn), Mouloud (the birth of Muhammad), Leilat al Meiraj (the ascension of Muhammad), and Eid al Fitr (the end of Ramadan).

Flag:

The flag of Iraq consists of three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,

and black, with three green, five-pointed stars centered in the white band.

The phrase “Allahu Akbar” (“God Is Great”) also appears in Arabic script

in the white band, with the word Allahu to the left of the center star and the

word Akbar to the right of that star.

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

Why Iraq may break up - 24 Oct 2006
The Age,By Simon Tisdall. Despite much speculative talk about new handover strategies in Iraq, two basic facts have not changed since Saddam Hussein's downfall. ...

This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.