Kurdistan PM, U.S. officials take up security deal

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) Nejervan al-Barazani discussed with the commanders of U.S. forces in northern Iraq and in Mosul the long-term security agreement that is scheduled to take place between Iraq and the United States. Yesterday, Barazani received in his Arbil-based office Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling and Maj. Gen. Thomas and discussed with them the security and political situation in the country and the U.S.-Iraq security deal, according to a statement published on Monday on the regional government’s official web site. Acts of violence and the alleged displacement of Iraqi Christians in Mosul city were also tackled during the meeting. Several Christian families have fled Mosul throughout the past few days, while Iraqi security sources said that a few Christians were killed in separate incidents in the city, signaling an increase in the wave of attacks against religious minorities in the northern volatile city. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, Yunus in Arabic, and Nahum. SS (S) 1