Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. On Monday,millions of Iraqi Kurds out to voted in a landmark referendum on independence. Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, and a strategic ally to the United States. They have fought for statehood for decades, or even after acquiring their semi-autonomous status 1991 at the cessation of the Gulf War.
But Iraqi officials are strongly opposed to the referendum. Before the vote on Sunday,Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi called it a "danger to the region" and said that the results would not be recognized.
Sally Nabil, a correspondent for the BBC, and on the ground in Erbil,the Kurdish capital, and has been speaking to voters. She discusses the referendum as Kurds await the results of the vote. This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.
Source: thetakeaway.org