Iraq says captures positions south of Kirkuk including airbase

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Reuters

Iraqi forces captured several positions south of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters on Monday in their bid to regain control of the oil-rich city, which is part of a region that declared itself independent at a referendum last month.

The territory captured included a key airbase called K1, the North Gas Company station, a nearby processing plant, a power plant and the industrial district, an Iraqi military statement said.

The Iraqi armed “forces are continuing to advance,” it said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) did not confirm the capture of these positions but major Kurdish TV channel Rudaw said Kurdish Peshmerga forces retreated form positions south of Kirkuk.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-kirkuk-stat/iraq-says-captures-positions-south-of-kirkuk-including-airbase-idUKKBN1CL0K4

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Other reports: Iraqi forces clash with Kurds in operation to 'impose security' on Kirkuk
Kirkuk: Clashes reported after Iraqi forces advance on Kurdish-held sites

Articles on the lead up to this: https://www.democraticunderground.com/113320595

[IronLionZion]

1. Iraqis seize military base, oil field from Kurdish forces near contested Kirkuk

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqis-seize-military-base-oil-field-from-kurdish-forces-near-contested-kirkuk/2017/10/16/35853dac-b201-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_kirkuk-659am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f46662b4ef0b


They should be fighting ISIS, not the Kurds.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Kirkuk: Iraqi forces seize largest oilfields near city

Iraqi government forces have taken control of the two largest oilfields near the disputed city of Kirkuk after Kurdish forces left the area.
...
On Tuesday, Iraqi forces captured the Bai Hassan and Avana oil fields run by state-owned North Oil Company, north of Kirkuk.
...
Meanwhile, a Yazidi militia retook the town of Sinjar, in the northern Nineveh province, without violence.
Peshmerga forces had established control over Sinjar while battling IS. The town was the site of one of the group's worst atrocities, when thousands of Yazidis were killed and enslaved after the jihadists seized control in 2014.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41649729