Iraqi Kurds vote for independence

Kurds celebrate to show their support for the independence

referendum in Duhok, Iraq, September 26, 2017

Photo by Ari Jalal/Reuters

Iraqi Kurds turned out in vast numbers yesterday to vote for independence. The current government of the country is braced for trouble -- and it's not just Iraq. Turkey and Iran have their own, restive Kurdish minorities, watching for official results of a referendum denounced as illegitimate by Iraq and its allies, including the United States. But Kurdish forces helped liberate parts of the country from ISIS, and that provided political cover for Kurdish leaders. NPR's Jane Arraf is in Irbil, the capital of Kurdish Iraq.