Jane Araf

Iran since Tuesday has intensified attacks in the region.

including in the Kurdish capital Erbil, where the provincial governor said U.S.

fighter jets were patrolling.

Regional President Nesher Van Barzani says Iran acknowledged that the attack was a mistake and said it was investigating.

Jane Araf, NPR News, Amman.

It's pouring rain here, but there are hundreds and hundreds of people carrying lit torches and making their way up the mountain.

This celebration marks the first day of spring, but it also references mythology in which a tyrant was defeated.

And the flames are a symbol of the victory of light over darkness.

It's a tradition that's much, much older than the countries in which it's celebrated.

And more than anything, as war rages around the region, it's a symbol of the endurance here of Kurdish identity.

Jane Araf, NPR News, Accra, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

It's pouring rain here, but there are hundreds and hundreds of people carrying lit torches and making their way up the mountain.

This celebration marks the first day of spring, but it also references mythology in which a tyrant was defeated.

And the flames are a symbol of the victory of light over darkness.

It's a tradition that's much, much older than the countries in which it's celebrated.

And more than anything, as war rages around the region, it's a symbol of the endurance here of Kurdish identity.

Jayna Raff, NPR News, Accra, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The U.S.

military transported more than 5,000 accused ISIS fighters from northeastern Syria to Baghdad in March.

That's when Syrian Kurdish forces were in danger of losing control of the prisons after Syrian government forces advanced and took over Kurdish-held territory.