Kūt (كوت; also known as Kut-Al-Imara and Kut El Amara) is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 100 miles south east of Baghdad, at 32.50°N, 45.82°E. As of 2003 the estimated population is about 400,000 people. It is the capital of the province long known as Al Kut, but since the 1960s renamed Wasit. The Tigris (Old Persian: Tigr, Syriac Aramaic: Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة, Dijla, Turkish: Dicle; biblical Hiddekil) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Several hundred killed after stampede in Baghdad A street map of Baghdad Average temperature (red) and precipitations (blue) in Baghdad For other meanings see Baghdad (disambiguation) Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Categories: Stub | Provinces of Iraq ...

The old town of Kut is within a sharp "U" bend of the river, almost making it an island but for a narrow connection to the shore. For centuries Kut was a regional center of the carpet trade. The area around Kut is a fertile cereal grain growing region. The Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility, looted following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is located near Kut. A carpet is any loom-woven, felted textile or grass floor covering. ... Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... The Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility near Kut, Israel in 1981 and the United States in 1991. ... The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first military act of the Iraq War, and was launched by the United States and the United Kingdom on March 20, 2003, with support from some other governments, making up what was described as the coalition of the willing. After approximately three weeks...

Kut in World War I

Kut was the scene of fierce battle during World War I. The British Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, led by General Sir Charles V. F. Townshend, marched north from Basra in September of 1915. They reached Kut on September 26 where after three days of fighting they drove the Ottoman forces from the town. Townshend pursued the retreating Ottomans up river until defeated at Ctesiphon on November 21, and then withdrew back to Kut. On December 7, 1915 the Turks and their Arab allies counter attacked and put the British under siege. A force under Colonel Gerard Leachman succeded in breaking out, but Townshend and the bulk of the force remained besieged. After gathering reinforcements including regiments from India Leachman tried to relieve Townshend, but each time was driven back by fierce battle. Some 23,000 British and Indian soldiers died in the attempts to retake Kut, probably the worst loss of life for the British away from the European theater. Townshend with some 9,000 surviving soldiers finally surrendered Kut on April 29, 1916. The captured soldiers were impressed into slave labour until the surrender of the Ottoman Empire. The British went back on the offensive in December with a larger and better supplied force under General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude and reconquered Kut on February 23, 1917. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Location of Basra Basra (also spelled Başrah or Basara; historically sometimes written Busra, Busrah, and the early form Bassorah; Arabic: , Al-Basrah) is the second largest city of Iraq with an estimated population of c. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (Ottoman Turkish for the Eternal State) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Constantinople (İstanbul) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Taq-i-Kasra, Ctesiphon, today. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... The word slaves has several meanings and usages: People who are owned by others, and live to serve them without pay. ... General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude (June 24, 1864 - November 18, 1917) was a British soldier. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ...

See also

• List of places in Iraq
• Siege of Kut