Kirkuk, a strategically important city in northern Iraq, had long been a center of ethnic tension, with a mix of Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen vying for control of the region’s rich oil reserves.

In the early days of the Iraq War, Kirkuk became a focal point of conflict as both Kurdish forces and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime sought to control the city.

The Kurds had long claimed the city as part of their ancestral homeland, and they hoped to take advantage of the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime to solidify their control over it.

By mid-April 2003, U.S. forces had captured Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, leaving a power vacuum in much of northern Iraq, including Kirkuk.

The Kurdish people, many of whom had been oppressed under Saddam Hussein’s regime, saw the fall of Kirkuk as a victory and an opportunity to secure their rights in post-Saddam Iraq.

The city’s future was left unresolved for many years, and it would be a key issue in subsequent battles for control of northern Iraq, especially as tensions between the Kurds and the central government in Baghdad intensified.