Iraq reopens airspace as elections proceed without incident

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks during the Tokyo Conference on Supporting Job Creation and Vocational Training to Facilitate Weapons Reduction for Iraqi Society in Tokyo, Japan, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the reopening of the nation's airspace and resumption of air traffic on Saturday, state television reported.

The shutdown had come into effect at midnight on Friday as a security measure ahead of the voting which started on Saturday morning. There was no significant incident reported by midday.

Islamic State militants, who overran a third of Iraq in 2014, had threatened attacks ahead of the elections, the first since the defeat of the militants last year.

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Alexander Smith)