The Iraqi security forces have allowed the reopening, after more than three years, of the main road connecting the city of Mosul with the neighbouring province of Duhok, in the Autonomous Region of Iraqi Kurdistan. "As part of the process of normalisation of the Mosul Dam area, the Italian military has assisted the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces in creating a security framework that would allow the population to be able to move freely again through the two provinces" according to a statement. "With the re-opening of the check points along the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, in fact, thousands of families will be able to reunite after several years of separation. The process of stabilisation will be able to develop on one of the main motorways in Northern Iraq. Closed at the end of 2014, after the Iraqi and Kurdish forces limited the expansion of ISIS, from the Ninewa Province (Mosul) to Duhok Province, the road remained inaccessible for transit through the Kurdish Defense Line which marked the main front defensive by the forces of the so-called Islamic state. However, its closure had prevented for years to maintain relations between the two areas and in many cases, it no longer allowed families to maintain relations, also influencing the economy of the area".