Iraq: Polls close as Kurdish officials begin to count independence referendum votes

Polls have closed across Iraqi Kurdistan, and officials have begun the long task of counting votes for the Kurdish independence referendum, as seen in Erbil, Monday.
The polls were scheduled to close at 19.00 (local time) after an hour's extension from the original 18.00 deadline.
The referendum is opposed by Baghdad which deems the referendum unconstitutional, as well as neighbours Iran and Turkey with their own sizable Kurdish minorities. Protests have erupted in the east of Iraq against the independence referendum, while four Peshmerga fighters were killed and seven injured in an explosion in the city of Kirkuk, which remains a flashpoint over independence plans.