Iraqi PM reopens Kurdish airports to international flights
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Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says he is reopening airports in Iraq's Kurdish region to international flights after federal authority was restored at the hubs.
Al-Abadi's announcement on Tuesday comes some six months after the airports were initially shut to international flights following a controversial referendum vote in northern Ira's self-ruled Kurdish region that overwhelmingly backed independence from Baghdad.
The vote, though non-binding, was held across the autonomous Kurdish region's three provinces as well as in some disputed territories controlled by Iraqi Kurdish security forces but claimed by Baghdad.
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The referendum was vehemently rejected by Baghdad and Iraq's other neighbors, ratcheting up tensions in the region on the heels of military victories against the Islamic State group.