Iraqi Kurds holds a large Kurdish flag as they walk near the citadel towards a gathering urging people to vote in the upcoming independence referendum in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on September 13, 2017.

Iraq's military prepared Saturday to take control of the international borders of the northern Kurdish region.

The move is part of the central government's stepped-up efforts to isolate the Kurds following their vote on independence earlier this week.

On Friday evening, Iraq instituted a flight ban that halted all international flights from servicing the territory's airports.

Iraqi troops now in Turkey and Iran are expected to start enforcing control over the border crossings in and out of the Kurdish region, but are not expected to move into Kurdish territory.

Abdul-Wahab Barzani, director of intelligence at the crossing point from the Kurdish region into Turkey, said Iraqi troops are in position on the Turkish side of the border.