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Iraqi forces seize territory from Kurds in independence dispute
[DAWN] Iraqi forces seized a key military base, an airport and an oil field from Kurdish fighters on Monday in disputed Kirkuk province in a major operation sparked by a controversial independence referendum.The offensive, which follows weeks of soaring tensions between two US allies in the battle against the murderous Moslem Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) group, aims to retake oil and military sites that Kurdish forces took over during the fightback against the fighters . Thousands of residents were seen fleeing Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk city, according to an AFP journalist. Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces exchanged artillery fire early Monday south of the capital of the oil-rich province, after the launch of the operation overnight which triggered a spike in oil prices on world markets. But after the initial festivities Iraqi forces made rapid progress, suggesting Kurdish fighters were withdrawing with little or no resistance. Iraq's Joint Operations Command said its forces had retaken the K1 military base northwest of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... the military airport east of the city and the Baba Gargar oil field, one of six in the disputed region. Posted by: Fred 2017-10-17 |
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