Iraqi Kurdistan Referendum: Who Are The Kurds?

The Kurds form a community united through race, culture and language - despite them not having a standard dialect and adhering to a number of different religions and creeds (the majority are Sunni Muslims).

The Kurdish people were denied their own state when colonial powers drew the map of the Middle East after the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The Kurds make up a large minority in four countries: Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq.

There are numerous other Kurdish minorities across the world, like Armenia - as seen on the map. 

Source: CIA

Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region in the north of the country recognised in Iraq's 2005 Constitution and run by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Iraqi Kurds make up an estimated 15% to 20% of the population of 37million.

They have long desired independence.

Source: USAID

In Iraq, there is a long-running disagreement with the Baghdad government over the sharing of oil revenues and the future of disputed territories like Kirkuk.

The US is historically against Kurdish independence, fearing it could lead to the break-up of Iraq and create more instability in the Middle East.

Despite this, the Kurds have been a close American ally for years.

The first US air strikes in the campaign against the Islamic State group were launched to protect Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital.

Kurdish forces played a major role in the battles across northern Iraq, including Mosul.

MORE: Iraq's Kurds Vote For Independence In Non-Binding Referendum