Khanaqin

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Iraq map with Khanaqin

Khanaqin (Arabic خانقين, Kurdish خانه قين Xaneqîn, also transliterated as Khanakin, Xanaqin) is a Kurdish city outside the Kurdish Autonomous Region in north-eastern Iraq. It is located at 34.3°N, 45.4°E in the Diyala Governorate and is the seat of the Khanaqin Municipality. This Municipality contains several cities such as As-Sadiyah and Jalula and hundreds of villages. It is near the Iranian border on a tributary of the Diyala River. Its population has been estimated to 175,000 inhabitants, however, the real figure is never known due to the policy of the Iraqi regime.

Khanaqin is the second largest oil-city in Kurdistan. The Naft Khana oil field is capable of producing up to 16,000 barrels per day of sweet light crude from an oil reserve that is also being tapped by Iran. Repairs to the oil plant were completed in March 2006 which restored it to its pre-war condition. The main elements affected were the gas-oil separation facility and the wet crude facility (which separates oil from water). Trucks currently transport oil to the Al Daura refinery in Baghdad. A 20,000 barrel per day oil refinery has been approved for construction in Khanaqin and oil from Naft Khana will be sent there when it is complete.

Khanaqin is divided into two parts by the Alwan River, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. The river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish identity.

People of Khanaqin speak Kalhuri and Gurani dialects of the Kurdish language, which is an Indo-European language. These dialects are wrongly groupped together and called Feyli by many Kurds. Gurani and Feyli/Fayli are in fact both dialects of Pahlawani branch of Kurdish vernaculars ("Feyli" is but an arabicized version of the name Pahli/Pahlawani). On the other hand, Kalhuri is the southernmost dialect of Southern Kurmanji.

During the Arabization policy of the Iraqi regime Sunni Arabs were settled in the city. At least 9,000 Kurds were killed and a larger number were forcibly removed and sent to southern Iraq or the Kurdish controlled north. The Iraqi Property Claims Commission has an office in Khanaqin to deal with the land disputes this policy generated now that Kurds have been allowed to return to their homes.

In 9/6/2006 all the members of the city council of Khanaqin demanded that the city be separated from control of the Diyala governorate and be allowed to join the Autonomous Kurdistan region. In December 2007 there will be a referendum including the city to the Kurdish controlled north.