Amid historical changes in the balance of power in the Middle East, at least one thing remains constant: the strategic importance of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey said on Wednesday it had killed 13 Kurdish militants in northern Syria and two in Iraq, a sign that Ankara has pressed on with its campaign against fighters, some with possible links to U.S. allies, since Donald Trump took office in the White House last week.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s reconstruction minister on Tuesday criticised the federal government for excluding the Kurdish region in the strategic Development Road between Baghdad and Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Iraq on Sunday for talks with officials on the fight against Kurdish militants, security issues and bilateral ties, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Saturday.

The Iraqi parliament is set to convene on Sunday to vote on an amendment to the budget law proposed by the federal government which could lead to the resumption of Kurdistan Region’s oil exports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday after talks in Baghdad that a joint battle using "all our resources" must be carried out to eliminate both Islamic State and Kurdish militants in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged for a unified effort to combat Islamic State and Kurdish militants after his Baghdad talks. Turkey, branding the YPG and PKK as terrorists, seeks regional support and new cooperation strategies.

Turkey vowed on Saturday to work closely with Iraq to secure their common frontier after two Iraqi border guards were killed in a shooting blamed on outlawed PKK militants.

The US-backed Kurdish militia group said no fewer than 14 civilians were killed and 29 wounded in attacks by Turkey-backed forces in northern Syria on

While Baghdad recently listed the PKK as a banned organisation, Ankara has called on Iraq to formally designate the group as a terrorist organisation.

Four people were killed on Monday in an air strike blamed on Turkey in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish sources said. Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party ( PKK ), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

The Iraqi Prime Minister confirmed that Iraq is advancing its electricity interconnection with the Gulf States and Turkey, reaching the EU.