Khanaqin (also transliterated as Khanakin, Xanaqin, Xaneqîn) is a Kurdish city outside the Kurdish Autonomous Region in north-eastern Iraq. It is located at 34.3°N, 45.4°E in the province of Diyala. It is near the Iranian border on a tributary of the Diyala River. Its population has been estimated to 175,000 inhabitants, however, the real figure is never known due to the policy of the Iraqi regime.

Khanaqin is the second largest oil-city in Kurdistan, there are oilfields, there is a oil refinery (12,000 b/d) and there is a pipeline to the Al Daura refinery in Baghdad.

Khanaqin is divided into two parts by the river Alwan, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. The river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish identity.

The people of the region are Kurds speaking Kalhurri (or: Kelhuri) and Gorani, a special dialect of the Kurdish language. These dialects are wrongly called Lurri or Feyli by many Kurds.

During the Arabization policy of the Iraqi regime Sunni Arabs were settled in the city, the Kurds were ousted to southern Iraq or the kurdish controlled north (losing their property).

External links and references

• Khanaqin HomePage
• Khanaqin from globalsecurity.org