Arshad al-Salihi

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Masoud Barzani will push for a Sept. 25 statehood referendum for the autonomous region in northern Iraq until the last minute, but may withdraw from the move if Baghdad and Washington meet its demands, a Turkmen leader has said. 

Iraqi Turkmens have said they want to help defend the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk against Islamist jihadists along with Kurdish militants and have asked Baghdad to supply arms and a budget.

"We also want to contribute to the defense of Kirkuk with the Peshmerga," Arshad al-Salihi, the head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), told state-run Anadolu Agency on Nov. 28.

Iraqi Turkmens, one of the largest minority communities affected by the violence in Iraq, are demanding arms to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a prominent leader of the ethnic group has said as the West begins funneling arms to the Kurds.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has called on Iraqi Turkmens to be united and urged Sunni and Shia Turkmens to refrain from sectarian confrontation.