Kurdish Ministers Rejoin Iraqi Gov't: Foreign Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Kurdish ministers who suspended their participation in the government of outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejoined the administration, Iraq's outgoing foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"I am back in Baghdad as foreign minister," Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd, told Reuters.
Maliki infuriated Kurdish leaders by accusing them of harboring terrorists after the ISIL militants swept through northern Iraq in June.
The crisis in Iraq escalated after the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group took control of Mosul on June 10, which was followed by the takeover of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.
The Iraqi army, backed by tribal forces and volunteers, has been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and has so far been able to push back militants in several areas, including in Tikrit.
