A group of 30 Kurdish fighters have ceremonially burned their weapons in northern Iraq, marking a major step toward ending a decades-long insurgency.

After its four-decade insurgency against Turkey's government, the Kurdistan Workers' Party has symbolically laid down its arms. The historic turning point presents opportunities and challenges for both sides.

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region | AFP The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has begun laying down its arms,

The move comes after the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) urged his group to formally disband and disarm.