Iaq

Iraqi Kurdish fighters have joined the fight against Islamic State militants in Kobane, hoping their support for fellow Kurds backed by U.S.-led air strikes will keep the ultra-hardline group from seizing the Syrian border town.

The Iraqi government has told the United Nations that militants have seized one of Saddam Hussein's former chemical weapons factories, confirming an earlier claim by Washington.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday rejected an assertion by the country's autonomous Kurdish region that its control of disputed territory is here to stay.

Iraqi Kurdish fighters have joined the fight against Islamic State militants in Kobane, hoping their support for fellow Kurds backed by U.S.-led air strikes will keep the ultra-hardline group from seizing the Syrian border town.

The Iraqi government has told the United Nations that militants have seized one of Saddam Hussein's former chemical weapons factories, confirming an earlier claim by Washington.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday rejected an assertion by the country's autonomous Kurdish region that its control of disputed territory is here to stay.