title: Iraqi parliament votes to remove kirkuk governor from office: lawmakers
text: BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq s parliament voted on Thursday to remove the governor of Kirkuk from office following a request from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, according to several lawmakers who attended the vote.  The decision to remove the governor, Najmaddin Kareem, comes after Kirkuk - an oil-rich province claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq - decided to take part in a referendum set for Sept. 25 on Kurdish independence. 