The Kurds

(CNN)Here's some background information about the Kurdish people. Kurds do not have an official homeland or country. Most reside within countries in the Middle East including northern Iraq, eastern Turkey, western Iran and small portions of northern Syria and Armenia.

About the Kurdistan region:

Area: Roughly 74,000 sq mi

Population: approximately 25-30 million (some Kurds reside outside of Kurdistan)

Religion: Most are Sunni Muslims; some practice Sufism, a type of mystic Islam

Other Facts:

Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, making Kurdistan a non-governmental region and one of the largest stateless nations in the world.

Portions of the region are recognized by two countries: Iran, where the province of Kordestan lies; and northern Iraq, site of the autonomous region known as Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurds were mostly nomadic until the end of World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

Kurds make up about 10% of the population in Syria, 19% of the population of Turkey, 15-20% of the population of Iraq, and nearly 10% of Iran.

The Peshmerga is a more than 100,000-strong national military force which protects Iraqi Kurdistan, and includes female fighters.

The Halabja Massacre

A look at the horrific chemical attack that killed between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the Southern Kurdistan town of Halabja at the close of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988.