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Kurd fighters advance
KURDISH fighters took control yesterday of more territory left by Iraqi forces withdrawing towards the major oil centre of Kirkuk, as Iraqi positions near the demarcation line between Kurdistan and Iraq came under fire from US and British forces for the third night running. The almost 15km advance by the US-backed Kurdish militia was unchallenged but slowed by dense minefields left by Saddam Hussein's troops, according to Ares Abdullah, a Kurdish commander. It was the third significant shift since Thursday in the front line separating Iraqi forces from the Kurds. Overnight on Sunday, coalition forces bombed Iraqi positions along the demarcation line, while Kirkuk and Mosul — the two main northern cities under Baghdad rule — have come under relentless attack from US warplanes. Each Iraqi move since last week has allowed Kurds to move closer to Kirkuk — the nation's second-largest oil-producing region and considered by Kurds as an essential part of their ethnic lands. In the hill country south of Taqtaq — about 55km southeast of the Kurdish administrative capital, Erbil — Kurdish forces can clearly see the glow of Kirkuk and its oil fields about 24km away. The reason for the Iraqi repositioning is unclear. But Kurdish commanders believe Iraqi troops have been seriously battered and need reinforcements. Iraq could also be rearranging units because the Pentagon apparently does not yet have enough strength in the Western-protected Kurdish zone for a ground assault. Plans for a northern offensive were crippled after Turkey refused to allow US troops to cross the border. We keep hearing about a steady stream of C-130s and C-17s landing at the airstrip in the north. I don't they are delivering milk and cookies. The Kurdish advance in the Taqtaq region came less than 24 hours after its forces fell back along another front: conceding more than 18km along the main road from Erbil to Kirkuk. Iraqi gunners have now dug in just outside Altun Kupri, also known as Perdeh, about 45km from Kirkuk. The noose continues to tighten. Posted by: Steve 2003-03-31 |
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