The Donald Trump administration is pushing to keep open a disputed crossing on the border of Iraq and Syria crucial to the fight against the Islamic State (IS) amid a military standoff stemming from last month's independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Kurdish officials in the semi-autonomous Rojava region had threatened over the weekend to close the three-way crossing at Fish Khabur that joins Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They say the western side of the border has come under threat from mortar fire from nearby Iraqi troops as they advance toward Kurdish-held areas.