Kurdish party calls for expansion of no-fly zones in Iraq

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the largest Iraqi Kurdish factions, asked for the expansion of the "no-fly zones" in Iraq to include more of the Kurdish south.

The PUK said that the region of the embargo ends at the 36th parallel, while the PUK wants the region to be expanded to the 34th parallel to include El-Samlnia city in the embargo region.

The northern no-fly zone covers a large part of the Kurdish region as well as regions controlled by Iraqi government.

A source in the party said there is a formal Iraqi governmental movement to end this no-fly zone, which the US says is provided for, though not specifically, by Security Council votes.