Sulaimaniyah

Security units have neutralized two female PKK local leaders, Şükran Alp inside the country and Delal Azizoğlu in northern Iraq.

"In an operation in [the southeastern province of] Siirt, two terrorists were neutralized on June 17. One of them was Alp, codenamed 'Arin,'" the Interior Ministry reported on June 24.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake has rattled the northern border region between Iran and Iraq, killing at least 135 people and injuring hundreds more.
At least 129 people died in western Iran’s Kermanshah province, officials told state media.
Six more were reported dead in Iraq. The death toll is likely to rise.

A number of international carriers have announced they would halt flights to the Iraqi Kurdish region this week at the request of Baghdad, including Lebanese and Egyptian national carriers. 

Turkish Airlines has announced its flights would continue for now, as any formal request was not delivered to the company yet from Iraqi authorities. 

Many Iraqi entrepreneurs are finding restaurants and eateries a safe business bet, despite the country's slumping economy, prevailing violence and an ongoing war with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.