US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region Tuesday June 24,2014

US Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday June 24,2014 as part of an urgent diplomatic drive to stop the fractious country tearing apart.

A day after meeting Iraqi Arab leaders in Baghdad to discuss a lightning assault by Sunni militants, the top US diplomat landed in Arbil to urge Iraqi Kurdistan’s president, Massud Barzani, to work to uphold Iraq’s cohesion.