Mosul

Mosul or Al Mawşil, city in northern Iraq, capital of Nīnawá Governorate, on the River Tigris. The city is linked by rail to other important towns in the country, and is connected to Turkey by road. Mosul is an important trade and market centre for the surrounding region, which is predominantly agricultural, producing cereals, fruit, and livestock; there are also rich oilfields in the area. Industries in Mosul include oil refineries, cement factories, textile mills, motor vehicle engineering, sugar beet refineries, and tanneries. Mosul has its own university and technical institute. Across the River Tigris are the ruins of Nineveh, capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria. The remains of Hatra, a fortress of the Parthian empire and designated a World Heritage Site in 1985, are nearby.

Mosul lost more than half of its population between 1977 and the late 1980s, due in part to the conflict between resident Kurds and the Iraqi government. Following the US-led invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, US-backed Kurdish forces entered Mosul on April 11 and occupied the city centre. The Kurds later withdrew to allow US forces to take control and restore order to the city, which witnessed some of the worst violence in northern Iraq following the collapse of the regime of President Saddam Hussein. Population 2,554,000 (2006 estimate).