At least 27 women have died in "honor killings" over the past four months in Kurdish Iraq, an official from the regional government said Nov. 26. Aziz Mohammed, human rights minister in the Kurdish administration, said 10 of the murdered women were from Arbil, 11 from Dohuk and six from Sulaimaniyah—the three provinces making up the Kurdish region. "We can say that the violence against women continues" in Iraqi Kurdistan, Mohammed said. He also said 97 women had attempted suicide by self-immolation during those four months.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says most "honor killings" are reported as deaths due to accidental fires in the home. Aso Kamal, a Kurdish Iraqi campaigner in Britain, says that from 1991 to 2007, 12,500 women were murdered for reasons of "honor" or committed suicide in the three Kurdish provinces. (AFP, Nov. 26 via KurdishMedia)

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