Iraqi Kurdish Leader Barzani Says Will Step Down on Nov. 1

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Sunday confirmed his intention to step down on Nov. 1 and asked the Kurdish parliament to take measures to fill the presidential power vacuum.

Iraqi military positioned to stake claim over Kurdish stronghold Kirkuk

An elite unit of the Iraqi military on Friday took control of a military base outside Kirkuk, a site that had been under control of Kurdish forces for several years.

Turkish FM insists on 'time limit' for KRG

A time limit should be set up for the northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to reconsider from their “mistake” of holding an illegitimate referendum, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.

KRG PM Barzani discusses ties, war against Daesh in Iraq and Syria with Putin, Lavrov

Northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Friday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Iraqi Kurdistan leadership: PKK should leave

Kurdish rebels of the PKK should move out of Iraqi Kurdistan to prevent Turkish air strikes against them from causing civilian casualties, the region’s leadership said on Saturday.

Peshmerga fighters to deploy to Kobane with heavy weapons: Kurdish officials

An agreement regarding the route for the deployment of Peshmerga fighters to the besieged Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane has been reached and troops are on the verge of departing, officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) told Anadolu Agency on Oct. 28.

The spokesman of the KRG’s Peshmerga Ministry said discussions had dragged on because of negotiations regarding the heavy weaponry that the troops from Arbil will bring to assist Kurdish fighters in Kobane in their struggle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Kurdish President: Conditions Favorable for Independence. (The Kurds tried to help build “a new Iraq.”)

As Iraq’s attempts at building a new government failed on Tuesday, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said he would push for a referendum on independence for Kurdistan.

Barzani spoke with VOA's Persian service on Tuesday in Irbil, the largest city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The Iraqi army has struggled against offensives by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic militant group that has captured large sections of Iraq’s north and west.

Iraq Warns Turkey Over Kurdistan Oil Ties.

Iraq is warning Turkey not to follow through on an oil deal with the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is expected to start exporting oil to Turkey as early as next month.

Baghdad officials have voiced strong opposition to any energy deals between Ankara and the KRG, insisting that only they have authority to make energy deals, a claim disputed by both Ankara and the KRG.

According to Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar Carnegie Institute in Brussels, energy cooperation between Ankara and the KRG is deepening, and shipments could start soon.