Are There Thrust Faults in Kurdish Zagros Fold Belt?

In Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the southern front of the Zagros fold belt is expressed by a series of folds trending NW-SE and E-W. Previously the existence of a main frontal thrust was suggested based on sharp topographic breaks along the frontal anticlines. Field mapping, structural analysis of seismic sections and wells revealed that these fold trains are affected by conjugate reverse faulting. Some minor portions of this thrusting can be mapped on the surface, sometimes combined with left-lateral strike slip movement. These thrusts link several detachments, some of which can be observed also on the surface. No expressed main boundary thrust was found, but such structures might be present at deep detachment level.