Helebce | city, capital city of state/province/region

 city, capital city of state/province/region

Halabja (Kurdish: هه‌ڵه‌بجه‎ Helebce,Helewce), is a city in South Kurdistan, located about 150 miles (240 km) north-east of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border. The city has a population of 117,000.
The town lies at the base of what is often referred to as the greater Hewraman region stretching across the Kurdistan-Iran border. The Kurds in the city of Halabja generally speak only the Sorani dialect of Kurdish, but some residents of the surrounding villages speak the Hewrami dialect.

Halabja is quite a dreary town, understandable given its history, however it is a bustling place with a market area and attractive parks on the outskirts of the city. People are very friendly; many come to pay their respect at the national monument for the victims of the Halabja gassing. Nevertheless, many have yet to discover Halabja’s natural beauty and various types of fruit and vegetation. The local people are pleased and welcoming to foreigners.
At the far end of Halabja is a large park with good views over the town and the surrounding hills.

Martyrs' Monument and Cemetery
The chemical bombardment of Halabja town by the Ba'ath regime on March 16th, 1988 led to more than 5 thousand dead and 10 thousand wounded or disabled as well as the destruction of the town. The monument and the cemetery are a symbol of Kurdish resistance and hope in the face of dictatorship. The site serves as a reminder and details the crimes against the Kurdish people as an eternal remembrance that will never die.
Prior to March 2014 Halabja was a district of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq. However after March 2014 the district was given governorate status. The towns of the district were elevated to districts when the new governorate was formed.

Gullan Park
Gullan Park is an attractive green picnic area 5 km east of Halabja city. The park is known for its fresh water springs, orchards and high trees. There is also a play area for children.

Byara Shrines
Byara Shrines is an old village about 98 km northeast of Sleimani. The site accommodates several shrines of spiritual sheikhs, such as the shrine of Sheikh Ala'addin Naqshabandi. Thousands of followers visit the village each year to pay homage to the Sheikh. The people of the area are famous for their handmade crafts such as knitting klash (Kurdish folkloric shoes) and weaving traditional Kurdish clothing.

Halabja Sports center and Stadium
The newly built Halabja sports center offers a wide range of sporting activities and a world class Stadium. Visitors are welcome to come along and enjoy sport with the locals.

Aweisar
Is an area in the Hawraman district, 3 km east of Taweila Village. Aweisar is a popular tourist destination famous for its walnut trees, fruit orchards and fresh water springs. Hawraman is known for its green and natural beauty.

Pahsa Mosque
The construction of this mosque dates back to the seventeenth century built by Grand Mohammed Pasha who was the grand father of Othman pasha Jaff. The mosque also serves as a mausoleum to Pasha Jaff and his wife. In the old times, the mosque served as a center for Islamic sciences, moreover the famous Islamic scholar Mula Abdullah Qutb was one of the grand scholars who had graduated from this mosque.

Ahmad Awa
Ahmad Awa is a resort that is known for its springs and waterfalls; the resort attracts half a million visitors per year from all over Kurdistan and Iraq. There are many facilities such as cafeterias and restaurants as well as newly built cabins for tourists who choose to stay the night and enjoy the cool atmosphere of the surrounding environment.

Twila
Twila is located about 100 km to the east of Sulaymaniyah. It is known as the heart of Horman. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides, which ensure perfect climactic conditions. It is covered by snow during autumn and winter. It is home to the shrines of Horaman and Sheikh Osman Siraj Eldin Naqshibandi, who lived and died there in Twila between 1868 and 1780.

History

Halabja has a long history. The cemetery includes the tombs of several historical figures, such as Ahmed Mukhtar Jaf, Tayar Bag Jaf and Adila Khanim. In August 2009, three 17th century tombs were discovered in the Ababile district of the town.
This suggests that the town is somewhat older than indicated by some sources, which claim that it was built by the Ottoman Empire circa 1850. However, modern developments date from the early 20th century. The post office opened in 1924 and the first school opened the following year. The Qaysari Pasha and Hamid Bag bazaars were built in 1932. Electricity did not reach the city until 1940.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were many British soldiers stationed in Halabja. During World War I, Adela Khanum saved the lives of several British soldiers, resulting in the British honouring her with the title Khan Bahadur, Princess of the Brave. She was also responsible for the building of a new prison, setting up a court of justice, of which she was the first president and building a new bazaar.

Chemical attack

The Kurdish peshmerga guerrillas, supported by Iran, liberated Halabja in the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War. On March 16, 1988, after two days of conventional artillery attacks, Iraqi planes dropped gas canisters on the town. The town and surrounding district were attacked with bombs, artillery fire, and chemical weapons, the last of which proved most devastating. At least 5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 7,000 people were injured or suffered long term illness. Most of the victims of the attack on the town of Halabja were Kurdish civilians.
The attack is believed to have included the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin, and VX, as well as mustard gas. Though, according to the former senior CIA analyst Stephen C. Pelletiere, Iraq did not have the nerve agent used in the attack, but did have mustard gas which was used in the Iraq-Iran war, and therefore the accusation of the Iraqi Armed Forces to be the party responsible for the massacre could not be validated. It is occasionally suggested that cyanide was also included among these chemical weapons, though this assertion has been cast into doubt, as cyanide is a natural byproduct of impure Tabun. The attack on Halabja took place amidst the infamous Anfal campaign, in which Saddam Hussein violently suppressed Kurdish revolts during the Iran-Iraq war.
Before the war ended the Iraqis moved in on the ground and completely destroyed the town. In March 2010, the Iraqi High Criminal Court recognized the Halabja massacre as genocide; the decision was welcomed by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Kurdish autonomy

In the mountains to the west of Halabja, a militant Islamist group, Ansar al-Islam, occupied a small enclave in the period of 2000-2003. The area was overrun by Peshmerga forces from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), with U.S. air support, at the beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The town has remained a center of Islamism in the Kurdistan region, however.
Just before Kurds gained some autonomy over the Iraqi Kurdistan region in 1991, which included Halabja, a new town was set up where some former Kurdish refugees later relocated. The new town called Halabja Taza (or New Hlabja) today has an estimated 9,000 homes.
The Kurdistan Regional Government made some concentrated reconstruction efforts after 2003 in the old town and began rebuilding some of the bombed-out homes in Halabja, and paving new roads. A memorial was also constructed for the victims of the chemical attacks. However, residents of Halabja have complained about the continued lack of basic services and necessities. On the 2006 anniversary of the gas attack, violent demonstrations erupted in Halabja. An estimated 7,000 demonstrators protested against priorities in reconstruction, claiming that officials were not sincerely addressing the problems of the gas attack victims. Road blocks were set up and the gas attack memorial museum was set afire. Police fired at protesters killing one 14-year old boy and wounding many others

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_chemical_attack

In 2015, the Kurdish Parliament decided to create a new Province, Habja Province, in order to have a better development in the region.

The Capital of the Halabja Province en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_Governorate

Saddam's crime in Halabja:
www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/117772/%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B7%D...