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Arab Sunni areas of Iraq see demands to join Kurdistan Region

The secessionist wing in Iraqi Kurdistan is working on using demands from some Sunni Arabs to join the region to support the upcoming referendum and independence.
A Peshmerga fighter stands next graffiti of the Islamic State (IS) group flag on a wall in Zummar city in the northern Iraqi Governorate of Nineveh on December 18, 2014, as they continue to battle Islamic State group fighters near the border with Syria. Kurdish forces backed up by US-led warplanes have recaptured a large area in Iraq near the Syrian border in an offensive this week against Islamic State jihadists, a US commander said. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED        (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/

As the Islamic State's reign comes to an end in Iraq, the sectarian narrative of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds — and the competition among them — is re-emerging. Political parties are mobilizing the three components to advocate a sectarian identity for each of them in post-IS Iraq.

In a series of posts on his official Facebook page, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned against "attempts by some to market sectarianism" after the liberation of Mosul from IS. "After liberating Mosul, new faces left their hideouts and appeared to speak in the name of the people of Mosul and Anbar," Abadi said in a post.

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