An Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) member screams during a battle against Islamic State group jihadists (IS) in Mosul's al-Rifaq neighbourhood on January 8, 2017, as an ongoing military operation against the militants continues. Elite Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul reached the Tigris River that splits the city in two for the first time, a spokesman said. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

An Iraqi Army member launches a rocket during the operation to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists in Jadid neighborhood as the clashes between Iraqi Army and Daesh terrorists continue in Mosul, Iraq on April 2, 2017. (Photo by Hemn Baban/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A demonstrator runs between burning tires during a curfew, two days after the nationwide anti-government protests turned violent, in Baghdad, Iraq on October 3, 2019. (Photo by Wissm al-Okili/Reuters)

People gather for the second annual “Cat Beauty Festival” organized by Royal Veterinary Hospital in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on July 2, 2025. Around 200 cats participated in the event, where the first round was determined by social media votes. The winner, a cat named “Gule Rana”, was selected by a jury. The festival aims to promote animal love and raise awareness about feline care. (Photo by Fariq Faraj Mahmood/Anadolu via Getty Images)

An Iraqi shi'ite muslim girl places a copy of the Koran on her head during the holy month of Ramadan at the Imam Ali Shrine, in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq on May 28, 2019. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

A displaced Iraqi girl, who fled her home, cries during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, near Badush, Iraq, March 16, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Iraqi Kurdish women train weight lifting at a centre in Iraq's Kurdish regional capital of Arbil on February 2, 2022. Women's sports have developed at a sluggish pace across much of conservative Iraq, which has struggled through decades of conflict. But the Kurdistan region was spared the brunt of the violence and destruction, and its infrastructure, facilities and government funding have paved the way for a boom in professional women's sports. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Iraqi firefighters try to stop the fire of burning oil wells in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, 02 June 2016. Two Khabbaz oil field wells in Kirkuk Province, northern Iraq, exploded by suspected insurgents, a security official said. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)