FRANKFURT: German airline Lufthansa said Friday it is resuming flights to the Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil, which have been suspended since August 8 as militants seized control of swathes of the country.

"Based on the most recent assessments of the security situation in Iraq, the Lufthansa group is resuming flight operations to Arbil in northern Iraq," the carrier said in a statement.

Arbil lay outside of the conflict zone controlled by the jihadist Islamic State group, Lufthansa said.

"According to the most recent assessments, the security situation allows for safe flight operations to Arbil."

The German group's Austrian Airlines subsidiary put its daily flight from Vienna back on the schedule on Thursday.

Lufthansa itself operates services from Frankfurt to Erbil twice a week and its first scheduled flight will depart on Saturday.

Source: AFP