Feyli Kurds

Feylis (also Faylis, Failis or Faylees) are a group of Shia Muslim Kurds or Lurs, whose heartland is divided between Ilam, Kermanshah provinces in Iran and Diyala Governorate in Iraq. They speak the Feyli dialect of Southern Kurdish.

In his book "Ameroir of Baghdad" issued by Al-Rais publishing house, in Cyprus in 1993. The ex minister Mosa Al-Shabandar describes the life of the Feylis. It is very difficult to give an accurate estimate of the Feyli Kurdish population, as many of them in Iraq have been deported and ethnically cleansed; however, some estimate that about 2.5 millions lived in Iraq and 3 million in Iran. The Iraqi Minorities Council and Minority Rights Group International estimate that before the current war there were 1,000,000 Feylis in Iraq.

Etymology of the name