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)

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)

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)

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, relatives weep over the body of an earthquake victim, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, November 13, 2017. An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rocked northern Iraq and Iran, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Sunday evening. Photo by Farzad Menati/Tasnim News Agency via AP Photo)

Civilians present their rations cards in order to receive humanitarian food aid being distributed by the Iraqi Red Crescent, in the eastern side of Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, January 31, 2017. Iraqi forces declared Mosul's eastern half fully liberated, just over three months after the operation to retake the city from IS was formally launched in October. (Photo by Khalid Mohammed/AP Photo)

Vian Salman, center, smiles with fellow contestants after she was crowned the new Miss Iraq during the Miss Iraq contest in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Photo by Karim Kadim/AP Photo)

Iraqi security forces ride in vehicles travelling to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, February 21, 2016. (Photo by Ahmed Saad/Reuters)

Students of the Ballet Academy prepare to perform during the school annual ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Hadi Mizban/AP Photo)