Kurdistan Regional Government

An ban on international flights to Iraqi Kurdistan, imposed by Iraq's central government in retaliation for the region's vote for independence, went into effect at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday, Iraqi state TV said

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday rejected an Iraqi central government ultimatum to hand control of its international airports to Baghdad after Kurds voted to create an independent state in a disputed referendum

Voting started on Monday in an independence referendum organised by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, ignoring the threats of the Kurds' neighbours and fears of further instability and violence across the Middle East.

Companies from 20 countries are involved in the supply chain of components that end up in ISIS explosives, a study found today, suggesting governments and firms need to do more to track the flow of cables, chemicals and other equipment.

Three people were killed in a third day of violent unrest in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Saturday, as protesters attacked or torched several offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Sulaimaniyah province.

Ten police officers were killed in a bomb attack on a minibus in a Turkish province bordering Armenia and Iran on Tuesday, a government official told Reuters, the edge of a region beset by violence between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

The United States on Thursday handed over to Iraqi authorities the widow of a senior Islamic State leader who had been detained by US forces since May, the Pentagon announced.

The unity of Iraq "is voluntary and not compulsory," the head of the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said on Wednesday, while stressing the Kurds had no immediate plans to break away from the central government in Baghdad.

President Barack Obama said on Saturday US air strikes had destroyed arms that Islamic State militants could have used against Iraqi Kurds, but he warned there was no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to tear Iraq apart.

The Iraqi government provided a planeload of ammunition to Peshmerga fighters from Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region on Friday, a US official said, in an unprecedented act of military cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi forces brought on by an acute militant threat.

Kurds from Iraq, Syria and Turkey joined forces in north Iraq on Wednesday to try to reclaim areas lost to jihadists and rescue thousands of civilians stranded in mountains without food or water.

Iraq accused Kurdish peshmerga fighters of seizing two key northern oil fields near the disputed city of Kirkuk on Friday, as relations between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region hit a new low.

A bolder Kurdistan, a bulwark against ISIL forces and strengthened by the seizure of the oil city of Kirkuk, wants a greater share of Iraq's oil revenue.

The United Nations is launching its first airlift of food and other aid supplies from Iraq to the Kurdistan region of northern Syria this week with permission from both governments, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.

An ban on international flights to Iraqi Kurdistan, imposed by Iraq's central government in retaliation for the region's vote for independence, went into effect at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday, Iraqi state TV said

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday rejected an Iraqi central government ultimatum to hand control of its international airports to Baghdad after Kurds voted to create an independent state in a disputed referendum

Voting started on Monday in an independence referendum organised by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, ignoring the threats of the Kurds' neighbours and fears of further instability and violence across the Middle East.

Companies from 20 countries are involved in the supply chain of components that end up in ISIS explosives, a study found today, suggesting governments and firms need to do more to track the flow of cables, chemicals and other equipment.

Three people were killed in a third day of violent unrest in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Saturday, as protesters attacked or torched several offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Sulaimaniyah province.

Ten police officers were killed in a bomb attack on a minibus in a Turkish province bordering Armenia and Iran on Tuesday, a government official told Reuters, the edge of a region beset by violence between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

The United States on Thursday handed over to Iraqi authorities the widow of a senior Islamic State leader who had been detained by US forces since May, the Pentagon announced.

The unity of Iraq "is voluntary and not compulsory," the head of the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said on Wednesday, while stressing the Kurds had no immediate plans to break away from the central government in Baghdad.

President Barack Obama said on Saturday US air strikes had destroyed arms that Islamic State militants could have used against Iraqi Kurds, but he warned there was no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to tear Iraq apart.

The Iraqi government provided a planeload of ammunition to Peshmerga fighters from Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region on Friday, a US official said, in an unprecedented act of military cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi forces brought on by an acute militant threat.

Kurds from Iraq, Syria and Turkey joined forces in north Iraq on Wednesday to try to reclaim areas lost to jihadists and rescue thousands of civilians stranded in mountains without food or water.

Iraq accused Kurdish peshmerga fighters of seizing two key northern oil fields near the disputed city of Kirkuk on Friday, as relations between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region hit a new low.

A bolder Kurdistan, a bulwark against ISIL forces and strengthened by the seizure of the oil city of Kirkuk, wants a greater share of Iraq's oil revenue.

The United Nations is launching its first airlift of food and other aid supplies from Iraq to the Kurdistan region of northern Syria this week with permission from both governments, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.