Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.

The statement on Thursday said that production from its oilfields stands at 280,000 bpd, of which 50,000 bpd is allocated for local consumption

Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq, the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process.

Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a key step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.

By Ako Rasheed SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq (Reuters) -Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani inaugurated Mosul International Airport on Wednesday, on the anniversary of the city’s liberation from the Islamic State (ISIS).

After decades of armed struggle, the PKK is laying down its weapons and beginning a new nonviolent chapter in the Kurdish movement.