Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region (Kurdish: Herêmî Kurdistanî, Arabic: إقليم كردستان ) is an autonomous Region since 1991 (de facto state) in Iraq.It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. Its capital is the city of Arbil , known in Kurdish as Hewlêr. The Region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
Following the 1991 uprising of the Iraqi people against Saddam Hussein in Gulf war , many Kurds were forced to flee the country to become refugees in bordering regions of Iran and Turkey. A northern no-fly zone was established following the First Gulf War in 1991 to facilitate the return of Kurdish refugees. As Kurds continued to fight government troops, Iraqi forces finally left Kurdistan in October 1991, leaving the region to function de facto independently; however, Iraqi Kurdistan continues to view itself as an integral part of a united Iraq but one in which it administers its own affairs.
The three governorates of Duhok, Erbil (Hawler) and Sulaymaniya comprise around 40,000 square kilometers and have a population of around 5 million.Disputes remain between the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish government about predominantly Kurdish territories outside the current borders of Iraqi Kurdistan. there are also issues of Kurdish disputed "sliced off" areas that was done by Saddam between Erbil and Baghdad weather they are to annex back to KRG or stay as they are.
KAR (Kurdistan autonomous region)
those disputed blocs colored in blue are all kurdish cities and 90% of their residents are kurds but were isolated from Kurdistan by Saddam for their oil reserves
KRG (kurdistan regional government)
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