Iraq issues arrest warrant for Kurdish secession leader
Tehran (KNA) - Iraq has issued an arrest warrant against one of the key engineers of last year’s secession referendum, which controversially sought to end the country’s sovereignty over the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The judicial authorities issued the warrant against Rebwar Talabani, the head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, Agence France-Presse quoted a source within the council as saying on Sunday.
The source said Talabani was being pursued for "hoisting the Kurdish flag on official buildings of Kirkuk and organizing the referendum," referring to the oil-rich provincial capital of the same name which has a majority non-Kurdish population.
On Talabani's orders, Kirkuk councilors voted last August to take part in the referendum. Talabani is currently in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, where he fled to with Kurdish militants last October as Iraqi troops arrived to restore calm to Kirkuk.
Source: PressTV