Kurd leader ousted — 60 die in attack
KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraq’s parliament on Thursday voted to dismiss the Kurdish governor of the ethnically mixed Kirkuk province, in a move that could escalate tensions ahead of a planned Kurdish referendum on independence.
To the south of Baghdad, meanwhile, militants attacked a checkpoint and nearby restaurant in southern Thi Qar province, killing at least 60 people and wounding 83, according to provincial Gov. Yahya al-Nassiri. The Islamic State, through its Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility.
Iraq’s Kurds plan to hold the vote on Sept. 25 in three governorates that make up their autonomous region as well as disputed areas like Kirkuk that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad. Late last month, Kirkuk’s provincial council voted to take part in the referendum. Iraq’s central government has rejected the polls as unconstitutional and illegal.
Lawmaker Hussein al-Maliki said parliament voted to dismiss Kirkuk Gov. Najmiddin Karim based on consultations with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Mohammed al-Karboli, another Arab lawmaker, said Karim “threatens the country’s unity and civil peace in Kirkuk.”
All Kurdish members boycotted Thursday’s session, while 187 mainly Arab and Turkmen legislators voted in favor, the two lawmakers said. The governor has the right to appeal the decision, alKarboli added.
Shortly after the session, the Kirkuk governor rejected the parliament decision in a statement, describing it as “invalid” and insisting that he’ll stay in office.
Brett McGurk, U.S. special presidential envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition calling on Kurdish leaders in Iraq to halt the referendum in favor of an alternative. While providing no details on the alternative, he said he has presented it to Kurdish leaders.
Iraq’s Kurdish region has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy since the U.S. imposed a no-fly zone over northern Iraq after the 1990 Gulf War. It has its own parliament and armed forces, flies its own flag, and has been a close U.S. ally against Islamic State and other militant groups.
The attack in Nasiriyah in Thi Qar province started with militants opening fire at the checkpoint and the restaurant on the main highway that links Baghdad with the southern provinces. That was followed by two suicide bombers, including one driving an explosivesladen car, he added.