Iraq is composed of nineteen governorates (or provinces) (Arabic: ''muhafadhat'' (singular ''muhafadhah''); Kurdish: پارێزگا ''Pârizgah''). The governorates are subdivided into districts (or ''qadhas''), which are further divided into sub-districts (or ''nawāḥī''). Kurdistan Region (Erbil, Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah and Halabja) is the only legally defined region within Iraq, with its own government and quasi-official army Peshmerga.