Rice visits Iraq's Kurdish north

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the autonomous and oil-rich Kurdish region of northern Iraq today, less than two weeks after the regional government threatened to break away from Iraq in a dispute over oil.

Rice, on a two-day trip to Iraq, travelled to the mountain retreat of the region’s powerful president, Massoud Barzani

Rice’s Iraq visit is meant to show US support for the country’s fragile central government, under assault by a spiral of sectarian violence and growing calls for autonomy among Iraq’s regions.

Fears of Kurdish succession rose in recent weeks, especially when Barzani briefly banned the display of the Iraqi flag in government buildings.

The oil dispute reflects a larger fight over federal control in Iraq.