that month. In October 1991, heavy fighting took place between Iraqi forces and Peshmerga after the former had started shelling the town indiscriminately, prompting about 1,000 Kurds to flee toward Sulaymaniyah. Iraqi forces would ultimately fail at recapturing the town and Kifri would be included in the autonomous Kurdistan Region when established in May 1992, despite being part of Diyala Governorate. The town experienced deadly clashes between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement in December 1993 which quickly spread to other towns in the region. 18 KIM members were killed on 28 December only. Despite being the southernmost point of the autonomous region, the town remained calm for over a decade until April 2003 when the US military shelled the outskirts of the town during the US-led invasion of Iraq, forcing the Iraqi Army to retreat southward. In April 2005, a mass grave from the Anfal genocide was discovered in the town. In September 2005, residents of Kifri demanded to be reincorporated into Kirkuk Governorate to reverse the Arabization policy of 1976. In July 2020, Iraqi and Kurdish forces agreed to jointly run the area south of the town despite recurring tensions. Jewish community A Jewish community existed in Kifri for decades until the exodus to Israel in the 1950s. While the Jewish population in Kifri was only six in 1826, it grew to 15 households in 1845 with one synagogue located in the town. The number of Jews was 30 households in 1859 and 50 people in 1884. The population grew steadily by the turn of the century to 300 people in 1906, 540 in 1924 and 722 in 1931. Eski Kifri Eski Kifri (lit. ‘Old Kifri’ in Turkish) is a large and extensive site situated some eight kilometers south-west of Kifri. In the 19th century, Claudius Rich found artefacts at the site dating to the Sasanian and Middle Assyrian periods, including a fortified complex, jar and vessel. See also Garmekan Garmian Region Beth Garmai Kaveh Golestan Latif Halmat References Populated places in Diyala Province District capitals of Iraq Turkmen communities in Iraq Kurdish settlements in Iraq Historic Jewish communities in Iraq