BAGHDAD- Iraq has lifted the ban on international flights to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region's airports, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Kurdistan's regional airports will be under the command of the Federal Ministry of the Interior," the statement said.

The ban on international flights was part of sanctions imposed on the Kurdistan Region after it conducted a referendum in September on Kurdish independence in defiance of Baghdad's wishes.

(Reporting by Raya Jalabi Editing by Alison Williams) ((Raya.Jalabi@thomsonreuters.com;))