TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PRASHANT RAO –
Vehicles drive past a giant poster featuring Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is also the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) running as a candidate in the Kurdistan’s parliamentary elections on September 18, 2013 in Iraq’s northern city of Sulaimaniyah. As Talabani recovers in Germany from a stroke, his political party at home faces a stiff challenge from an emboldened opposition in upcoming Kurdish elections, with some forecasting a disastrous showing. AFP/ PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE