This is a list of wars that Kurdish rebels and subsequently the autonomous Kurdistan Region has been involved in, since the establishment of Iraq in 1932. Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results Ahmed Barzani revolt (1931–1932)Barzan tribe IraqUnited KingdomAssyrian Levies Iraqi victory Revolt suppressed Barzanis retreat to underground Low-level insurgency continues through 1933 Another revolt by the Barzanis erupts in 1943 1943 Barzani revolt (1943–1945)Barzani tribesmenAllied Kurdish tribes Kingdom of Iraq Iraqi victory Revolt suppressed First Iraqi–Kurdish War (1961–1970) KDPSupported by: Iran (alleged) Before 1968: Iraq Syria (1963)Supported by: (from 1963) Egypt (1965)After 1968: Ba'athist IraqMilitary stalemate Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement Arabization program continued Second Iraqi–Kurdish War in 1974 Second Iraqi–Kurdish War(1974–1975) KDP IranSupported by: IraqSupported by: Iraqi victoryJ. Schofield, Militarization and War, p. 122 KDP military and strategic failure Peshmerga fighting ability destroyed KDP–Iraq cease-fire Failed PUK low-level insurgency Iran withdrew its support for KDP 1975 Algiers Agreement Iraqi government reinstates full control over Kurdish-majority territories 1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions in Iraq(1983-1986) KDPSupported by: PUK Kurdish mujahideen Iraq Short-term military stalemate Beginning of Al-Anfal campaign (1986–89) against the Kurds and defeat of the Kurdish rebellion Kurdish KDP, PUK, and Mujahideen temporarily hold major enclaves in North Iraq Long term Kurdish tactical failure Kurdistan Region–PKK conflict (1983–2025) Kurdistan Region Peshmerga KDP PUK (sometimes; after 1991)
Supported by:
ENKS KDP-S Peshmerga Rojava KCK PKK (until 2025) HPG YJA-STAR YDG-H YPS YPS-Jin PÇDK (until 2015)
PUK (until 1991) Supported by:
(claim Peshmerga) (against Turkey) Ba'athist Iraq (against Turkey) Sinjar Alliance YBŞ YJÊ PJAK YRK DAANES SDF PYD Inconclusive Low level insurgency ended PKK dissolves on 12 May 2025 as part of the 2025 PKK–Turkey peace process 1991 Iraqi uprisings Battle of Sulaymaniyah Battle of Kirkuk (1991) Battle of Tuz Khormato Battle of Zakho Shia and leftist elements of opposition: SCIRI/Badr Brigades Dawa Communist Party Pro-Syrian Ba'athists Army deserters/defectors Kurdish rebels: Peshmerga: KDP PUK IMK CPK Jash deserters/defectors PDKI
Diplomatic Support: Military Support Ba'ath Party Iraqi Army Republican Guard Special Republican Guard Popular Army General Security Intelligence Service Special Security
Support: MEKIraqi government military victory Establishment of Kurdistan Region, facilitated by the imposition of the Iraqi no-fly zones by United States, United Kingdom and France Iraqi Kurdish Civil War(1994–1997) KDPSupported by: Iraq (from 1995) (from 1997) (before 1995) PUK PKK SCIRIKCPIraqi National CongressSupported by: (from 1995) Syria (1996) Washington Agreement PKK moved to Qandil mountains from Bekaa Valley Kurdistan Islamist Conflict(2001–2003) Kurdistan Region PUK (armed involvement after Viking Hammer) Islamic Emirate of Kurdistan Ansar al-IslamMasters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 7 Kurdistan Islamic Group Kurdistan Islamic Movement
Supported by: (alleged by PUK)A Modern History of the Kurds, David McDowall, 2021, pp. 592, KDP (alleged by PUK) Kurdistan Region–United States victory Kurdistan Regional Government regains control of the Islamic Emirate of Kurdistan Iraq War(2003–2011)Invasion (2003)Coalition of the willing Kurdistan Region
After invasion (2003–11) MNF–I (2003–09) Awakening Council Invasion (2003) Republic of Iraq MEK
After invasion (2003–11) Al-Qaeda in Iraq Islamic Army in Iraq Islamic State of Iraq Mahdi Army Naqshbandi Army Hamas of Iraq Jaysh al-Mujahideen 1920 Revolution Brigades Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna Victory Depletion of Iraqi insurgency, improvements in public security Re-establishment of democratic elections U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement See War in Iraq(2013–2017) Iraqi Armed Forces Iraqi Ground Forces Iraqi Air Force CTS-ISOF Popular Mobilization Forces Sunni Tribal Mobilization (since 2015) Assyrian Forces (Iraqi command) Federal Police
Kurdistan Region Peshmerga Zeravani Kurdistan Region Security Council CTG Kurdistan Parastin u Zanyari Assyrian Forces (Kurdish command)
Allied groups: Sinjar Alliance PKK
Kurdish National Council
Iraqi Communist Party Various self-defense groups Others:
Liwa Zainebiyoun Syria
Islamic State
Sunni insurgent factions (2013–2015) Naqshbandi Army Army of Pride and Dignity Hamas of Iraq Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance GMCIR (2014) Free Iraqi Army (2013–2014) Islamic Army in Iraq (2013–2014) 1920 Revolution Brigades (2013–2015) Anbar Tribal Council (2013–2015) Iraqi and allied victory 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict(2017) Kurdistan Regional Government PDKI PAK White Flags (alleged) Supported by:Iraqi victory Iraqi government forces defeat the Peshmerga and capture 40% of the territory controlled by the Kurdistan Region including the province of Kirkuk, along with its oil fields and checkpoints, Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa and Sinjar in Nineveh province.
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