Consider the following pairs : Towns sometimes mentioned in news Country 1. Aleppo — Syria 2. Kirkuk — Yemen 3. Mosul — Palestine 4. Mazar-i-sharif — Afghanistan Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 1 and 4 ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) 2 and 3
- (d) 3 and 4
Why the answer is (b)
• Aleppo (1) is Syria's largest city, devastated in the civil war and retaken by government forces in 2016.
• Mazar-i-Sharif (4) is northern Afghanistan's main city, home to the Blue Mosque.
• Kirkuk (2) is an oil-rich city in northern Iraq disputed between Baghdad and the Kurds — not Yemen; Mosul (3) is Iraq's second city, liberated from ISIS in 2017 — not Palestine.
• Hence 1 and 4, option (b).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 and 2
- Kirkuk is in Iraq, not Yemen.
- (c) 2 and 3
- Kirkuk and Mosul are both in Iraq.
- (d) 3 and 4
- Mosul is in Iraq, not Palestine.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.