Nouri al-Maliki

Last week I shared the critical messages of Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani, on the KRG's bid for independence and relations with Turkey. Now it’s time for his assessments on the region.

Baghdad authorities have asked for international help after Sunni insurgents controlling parts of the country seized radioactive materials used for scientific research.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq has dismissed claims that its leader, Masoud Barzani, is planning to take control of Mosul with the help of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Sunni Arabs.

The KDP released a statement on its website directly rejecting the claims of Cemil Bayık, a senior member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Iraq’s al-Maliki says ‘not so fast’ to Kurds intent on sovereignty after an ultimatum from the US and UN Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki o rejected an assertion by the country’s autonomous Kurdish region that its control of disputed territory is here to stay while ruling out its chances of holding a referendum on independence.

An independent Kurdish state was a reason for war in the past, however the situation has changed, according to Hüseyin Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, paid a one-day visit to Ankara on June 26, upon the invitation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to discuss in detail the developments in the whole of Iraq.
  

Syrian fighter jets bombed positions of Islamist insurgents near the border with Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki backs actions of Damascus against the militants led by Sunni extremist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) who control significant parts of the country's territory and also have some gains in Syria.

Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq (KRG), has held talks in Ankara in the early hours of June 26 to discuss the deepening unrest in Iraq.

At least 1075 people were killed in Iraq from June 5 to 22, UN estimates reveal as the country has plunged into a conflict between the government and Islamist-led fighters.

UN human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville elaborated the numbers "should be viewed very much as a minimum," the BBC quoted him as saying.

Turkey and the United States are in close coordination over developments in Iraq, as security conditions have worsened since last week after jihadists seized control of a number of key cities, Turkish diplomatic sources have said.