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Iraqi military preparing to take control of Kurdish borders

Travelers line up to check in at the Irbil International Airport, in Iraq, Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Many travelers boarded the last flights out of the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah as an Iraqi government order to halt all international flights in Kurdish territory was set to kick in on Friday. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
Travelers line up to check in at the Irbil International Airport, in Iraq, Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Many travelers boarded the last flights out of the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah as an Iraqi government order to halt all international flights in Kurdish territory was set to kick in on Friday. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Travelers line up to check in at the Irbil International Airport, in Iraq, Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Many travelers boarded the last flights out of the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah as an Iraqi government order to halt all international flights in Kurdish territory was set to kick in on Friday. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) – Iraq’s military is preparing to take control of the international borders of the northern Kurdish region.

The preparations are part of the central government’s stepped-up efforts to isolate the Kurds following their vote on independence earlier this week.

They come a day after Iraq instituted a flight ban that halted all international flights from servicing the territory’s airports.

Iraqi troops now in Turkey and Iran were expected to start enforcing control over the border crossings out of the Kurdish region Saturday morning.