article_snippet.sent: Irbil is the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.
article_snippet.sent: Ismail is a spokesman for the Peshmerga, the  force that defends Iraq's Kurdish region.
article_snippet.sent: The State Department thanked the response by the Kurdish government and will investigate an explosion of a small improvised bomb in the area together with an explosion of a small improvised bomb in the area.
article_snippet.sent: The United States will continue to stand with the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and all Iraqis as The United States work together in confronting these terrorist acts and towards The United States shared goal of degrading and defeating (ISIS)," The State Department said in a statement.