Iraqi-Turkmen ask government to elevate 2 districts to provinces

KIRKUK, Iraq

The leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front has urged the government to elevate the status of two majority-Turkmen districts in Iraq to province status.

Hasan Turan in a statement issued on Monday proposed upgrading the status of the Tal Afar district in Nineveh province and the Tuz Khurmatu district in Saladin province, both of which are majority-Turkmen, noting that this is "the biggest wish of Iraqi Turkmen."

Turan stated that the proposal is part of the election for provincial councils, which is set to take place on November 6 across the country.

He pointed out that a similar request was made to the then-Iraqi prime minister in 2012. However, “the issue was neglected" due to Daesh/ISIS terrorist attacks carried out in the area.

He stressed that the internal war and terrorist acts that have been going on for years have had a severe impact on the Tal Afar and Tuz Khurmatu districts.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all territories controlled by the terrorist group since the summer of 2014, which was estimated to be about one-third of the country's territory.

The group, however, still maintains sleeper cells in large areas in Iraq and occasionally launches sporadic attacks.

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report