Al Kut

City and river port in eastern Iraq, 164 km/103 mi southeast of Baghdad, on the River Tigris; population (2001 est) 352,800. It is a grain market for the surrounding agricultural area and a carpet-manufacturing centre.

In World War I it was under siege by Turkish forces from December 1915 to April 1916, when the joint British and Indian garrison surrendered. The captives were treated harshly by the Turks: two-thirds of the British and half the Indian troops died during a forced march to captivity of some 1,900 km/1,200 mi. The town was eventually recaptured on 23 February 1917, remaining in British hands for the rest of the war.