{
  "id": "ACM-IRQ-CON",
  "slug": "iraq-conflict",
  "title": "The Iraq Conflict",
  "url": "https://armedconflicts.org/iraq-conflict.html",
  "status": "Active",
  "intensity": "Medium",
  "region": "Middle East",
  "type": "Insurgency / instability",
  "tracked_since": "2003",
  "revision": "2026-08-05",
  "sources": [
    "ACLED",
    "UCDP",
    "CFR Global Conflict Tracker"
  ],
  "locations": [
    {
      "name": "Baghdad",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 33.3152,
      "lon": 44.3661,
      "description": "Capital of Iraq and seat of the federal government, currently led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi."
    },
    {
      "name": "Mosul",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 36.3489,
      "lon": 43.1189,
      "description": "Iraq's second-largest city, captured by the Islamic State in June 2014 and recaptured by Iraqi forces in July 2017."
    },
    {
      "name": "Kirkuk",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 35.4681,
      "lon": 44.3922,
      "description": "Oil-rich city that sits along the fault line between Iraq's Kurdistan autonomous region and areas administered by the federal government, a longstanding source of Arab-Kurdish tension."
    },
    {
      "name": "Erbil",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 36.1911,
      "lon": 44.0092,
      "description": "Capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq."
    },
    {
      "name": "Basra",
      "type": "port",
      "lat": 30.5085,
      "lon": 47.7804,
      "description": "Iraq's main port city and oil-export hub on the Persian Gulf."
    },
    {
      "name": "Al-Asad Airbase",
      "type": "base",
      "lat": 33.7756,
      "lon": 42.4411,
      "description": "Major air base in western Anbar province used by U.S. forces in an advisory role against Islamic State remnants.",
      "control": "Iraqi government, hosting roughly 2,500 U.S. troops in an advisory capacity",
      "source": "Council on Foreign Relations, Global Conflict Tracker",
      "source_url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/political-instability-iraq",
      "as_of": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fallujah",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 33.3489,
      "lon": 43.7869,
      "description": "Anbar province city recaptured from the Islamic State in June 2016 after months of fighting."
    },
    {
      "name": "Ramadi",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": 33.42,
      "lon": 43.3,
      "description": "Anbar province's capital, recaptured from the Islamic State in December 2015."
    }
  ],
  "revision_history": [
    {
      "date": "2026-08-05",
      "change": "Headlines refreshed",
      "source": "News feed"
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-03",
      "change": "Al-Asad Airbase control updated",
      "source": "Council on Foreign Relations, Global Conflict Tracker"
    }
  ]
}