Iraqi Kurdish president asks parliament to prepare for independence vote

ARBIL: The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region asked its parliament on Thursday to plan a referendum on Kurdish independence, signaling his impatience with Baghdad, which is fighting to repel Sunni insurgents and struggling to form a new government. The United States has urged the Kurds to stand with Baghdad as Iraq faces an onslaught by Sunni Muslim militants led by an al Qaeda offshoot who have seized large parts of the north and west and are threatening to march on the capital. Iraq’s 5 million Kurds, who have…