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.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday outlined Iraq’s plans to enhance its energy sector, boost economic development, and strengthen regional connectivity at the Iraq Development Platform conference in Baghdad.

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.

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.

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 word for 2025 is “sovereignty.” Despite many challenges like reducing oil dependency, ensuring political stability amid sectarian divides and managing environmental crises, the Sudani government must focus on protecting the state.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two Iraqi border guards were killed on Friday during a clash with fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Iraq's interior ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said they had come "under gunfire by terrorist elements belonging to the banned organisation".

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Tuesday that two days of Turkish strikes had killed 12 civilians in Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria.

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