Iraq Supreme Court Orders Suspension of Kurdistan Referendum

Iraq's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the suspension of a September 25 referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, to examine whether such a poll would be constitutional.

Iraqi Vice President Says Iraq Will Not Accept 'Another Israel'

Iraqi Vice President Nouri Maliki, an opponent of Kurdistan independence, said Sunday that Baghdad will not put up with the emergence of "another Israel" in Iraq's north, referring to the upcoming independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Maliki: ‘diabolical’ Arab states behind Iraq unrest

As Iraqi government forces and allied tribal militias launched an all-out offensive against al-Qaeda-linked militants on Sunday in the Sunni stronghold of Anbar, Iraq’s premier accused “diabolical” and “treacherous” Arab states of being behind strife in the country.
In his remarks, al-Maliki said suicide bombers were coming to Iraq from as far as Morocco, Libya and Yemen, but stopped short of directing his disparaging sentiments against any specific country.
In 2013 alone, the U.N. said violence killed 8,868 people across Iraq. 

“Iraq is the target for some countries that are backing terrorism, and backing evil,” Agence France-Presse quoted Maliki as saying during the speech.