Iraqi Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Iraq — Exxon Mobil has pulled out of three of the six exploration blocks it operated in the Kurdistan Region. The American oil giant withdrew from Betwata, Arbat and Qara Hanjeer in Sulaimaniyah province, raising many questions about the sudden step. Hemen Hawrami, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's foreign relations office, announced during a Dec. 26 press

ERBIL, Iraq — The salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has led to further economic, political and social interdependence with Baghdad, which began to melt the Kurdish dream of independence. The economic situation has affected even the most hard-line nationalist politicians in the Kurdistan Region. Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, visited Baghdad on

Internal political bickering and public discontent over economic problems could complicate the upcoming Mosul campaign and the KRG's long-term unity. On September 29, President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government led a delegation to Baghdad -- a rare visit that may help consolidate efforts to liberate Mosul and alleviate the KRG's economic and political woes.

Representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (K.R.G.) are currently in the process of shaping the information environment ahead of a desired referendum on Kurdish independence. Aside from a lobbying campaign strongly focused on Washington—the K.R.G. has spent more on lobbying in the United States than Pakistan—leaders have been making provocative statements regarding

Download PDF: Dream on hold - Despite a string of military successes, the Kurds are nowhere near independence PESHMERGA militiamen pile armchairs and sofas high on a removal van as they decamp from the dam above Mosul to the plain below. Mosul, Iraq’s second city and the nerve centre of Islamic State (IS), lies in their sights. Thanks to coalition arms, training and air powe