More Than 700 Iraqi Kurds Killed Since June
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said that more than 700 members of its armed forces have been killed in the conflict against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group since June.
A statement from the region's military forces, known as the Peshmerga, also said on Wednesday that more than 3,500 members were wounded over the past six months of fighting.
ISIL has become a major threat to the Kurdish leadership since the fighters launched an offensive in June that led to them seizing large parts of the country.
Wednesday's statements came a day after a senior Iraqi Kurdish official urged the country's government to give up complete authority to regional power centres as a solution to the current conflict.
Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdish regional administration, told the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that Iraqi Sunnis could rule over their own area in Iraq.
He called for a broader power structure that "reflects the diversity of Iraqi society".