Disputed territories of Northern Iraq

The disputed territories of Northern Iraq are regions defined by article 140 of the Constitution of Iraq as being Arabised during the Baath Party rule in Iraq. Most of these regions had previously been inhabited by non-Arabs, most notably ethnic Assyrians and some Kurds, and were later Arabised by transferring and settling Arab tribes in the areas.

The disputed areas have been a core concern for Arabs and Kurds, especially since the US invasion and political restructuring in 2003. Kurds gained territory to the south of Iraqi Kurdistan after the US-led invasion in 2003 to regain what land they considered historically theirs.

Currently, in addition to the four existing governorates within Iraqi Kurdistan (Erbil, Dahuk, Halabja and Sulaymaniyah), Kurds control parts of Nineveh Governorate, Kirkuk Governorate, Salah ad Din Governorate and Diyala Governorate; on the other hand, Iraqi government controls other parts of those four provinces, some parts of which are also claimed by the Kurds. However, during the 2014 ISIL offensive, Iraqi Kurdistan's forces also took over much of the disputed territories.

Tensions between Iraqi Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government mounted through 2011–2012 on the issues of power sharing, oil production and territorial control. In April 2012, Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, demanded that officials agree to their demands or face a secession from Baghdad by September 2012.

In September 2012, the Iraqi government ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to transfer its powers over Peshmerga to the central government and relations were strained further by the formation of a new command center (Tigris Operation Command) for Iraqi forces to operate in a disputed area over which both Baghdad and the KRG claim jurisdiction.

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