FILE – In this Sept. 21, 2013 file photo, An Iraqi Kurdish woman casts her ballot in a regional election in Irbil, Iraq. The leading party in Iraq’s northern self-ruled Kurdish region has won the largest bloc in the local legislature, gaining eight seats. Kurds have enjoyed autonomy since 1991, when a U.S.-British no-fly zone helped protect them from Saddam Hussein’s forces until his fall in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Since then, the region has been largely peaceful compared to the rest of Iraq. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed, File)