Kirkuk

Kirkuk (kirkOOk') [key], city (1987 pop. 418,624), NE Iraq. It is the center of Iraq's oil industry and is connected by pipelines to ports on the Mediterranean Sea. Oil production throughout the 1980s was reduced because of the Iran-Iraq War. Kirkuk is a market for the region's produce, including cereals, olives, fruits, and cotton. There is a small textile industry. Kirkuk is built on a mound containing the remains of a settlement dating back to 3000 B.C. Kirkuk's population is mix of Turkomans, Kurds, and Arabs; forced resettlement of many Kurds in the late 20th cent. reduced their numbers in the city and prompted a Kurdish migration back into the city and the surrounding province after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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