Although the United States has asked Iraqi Kurdistan to postpone a Sept. 25 independence referendum, Hoshyar Zebari insists it will go on as planned.
Zebari is a former deputy prime minister who is now an adviser to Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked Barzani to delay the vote over fears that it may ignite a new conflict. Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım warned that Turkey will not allow the formation of any new states, an obvious reference to Kurdistan, on its border.
At least 1,500 civilians have fled the Tal Afar area ahead of an expected operation to oust the Islamic State militants.
At least 75 were killed and 20 were wounded in recent violence:
A bomb in the Hamrin Mountains killed four people and wounded nine more who were all trying to escape Daesh territory.
In Mosul, two brothers were found shot to death.
Iranian artillery fire on Haji Omaran left two civilians wounded, one of them a teenager. Iran regularly shells Kurdish rebel locations in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Three Peshmerga were killed and several were wounded in a clash in Daquq. At least 20 militants were killed.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed a civilian.
A bomb in Jalawla wounded two Peshmerga and a civilian.
A policeman was wounded in Karbala as he killed a suicide bomber.
An explosion in Hawija left 14 caliphate cubs dead. These “cubs” are pre-teen children taken and reared to be militants. Militants executed a judge and four aides for attempting to flee.
Sixteen militants were executed in Tal Afar.
Militiamen killed nine militants and wounded four at the Syria border.
