Governorates of Iraq

Iraq's prime minister on June 12 inaugurated a training and research hospital built by a Turkish construction company in a city on the Euphrates River.

Iraqi protesters attacked houses of government officials and lawmakers in the southern province of Dhi Qar, according to a local police officer, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Oct. 30.

Erbil

Members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council voted on March 28 in favor of raising the KRG flag over official buildings during a meeting that was boycotted by Turkmen and Arabs.

On April 1, the Iraqi parliament in a session voted against the decision of the Kirkuk Provincial Council.

The United Nations cultural organization has condemned the ?barbaric assaults? the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group launched on World Heritage sites in Iraq and Syria, saying they may amount to war crimes.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters seized the government compound in the city of Ramadi on May 15 and edged closer to what would be their biggest victory in Iraq this year, officials said.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants hammered, bulldozed and ultimately blew up parts of the ancient Iraqi Assyrian city of Nimrud, destroying a site dating back to the 13th century B.C., an online militant video purportedly shows.

The head of UNESCO has condemned the destruction of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), saying it amounted to a "war crime."

"I condemn with the strongest force the destruction of the site at Nimrud," Irina Bokova said in a statement.        

Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova demanded Thursday that an emergency meeting of the Security Council of the organization is held immediately.

"This attack is far more than a cultural tragedy - this is also a security issue as it fuels sectarianism, violent extremism and conflict in Iraq," UNESCO chief Irina Bokova said in a statement.