Baghdad Considers Iraqi Kurdistan as "Second Israel"

Iraq will not allow the creation of a "second Israel" in the northern parts of the country, the vice-president and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said, quoted by the Anatolian agency.

His speech came at a meeting with US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silimon and concerns the referendum on independence prepared by authorities in the Iraqi Kurdistan Autonomous Region.

Recently, Israel voiced its support for the poll and so angered Baghdad, who consider the referendum as a threat to the unity of the country and national security. Iraqi neighbors such as Turkey and Iran are also opposed.