Iraqi revolt against the British
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The Iraqi revolt against the British started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations of both Sunni and Shia, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman army, against the policies of Sir Arnold Wilson. The revolt gained momentum when it spread to the largely Shia regions of the middle and lower Euphrates. Sheikh Mehdi al-Khalasi was a prominent Shia leader of the revolt. Although the revolt was largely over by the end of 1920, it dragged on until 1922. The biggest revolt came from the Kurds, who formed two kingdoms. The king of the Kurds was Sheik Mahmoud Barzinji. During the revolt, Britain used phosphorus bombs against Kurdish villagers. Legal experts consider phosphorus bombs chemical weapons when used as an anti-personnel weapon.
