Tag: Kirkuk

Iraqi Kurds say open to talks after Baghdad military operation

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) – The Iraqi Kurdish regional government said Thursday it was open to talks with Baghdad after central government forces seized a swathe of disputed territory from Kurdish fighters. “The cabinet welcomes the initiative of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on starting negotiations with the regional government to solve pending issues according to the constitution and principles of partnership,” it said in a statement. “Kurdistan demands the help and contribution of the international community in sponsoring this dialogue,” […]

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Iraqi forces seize Kirkuk governor’s office in push against Kurds

by Abdallah Ibrahim with Ammar Karim in Baghdad Agence France Presse KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces seized the Kirkuk governor’s office, key military sites and an oil field on Monday as they swept across the disputed province following soaring tensions with Kurds over an independence referendum. The rapid advance, involving troops, tanks and armored vehicles, aims to recapture oil and military targets that Kurdish forces took over during the fightback against the Islamic State […]

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Iraq forces retake positions from Kurds in disputed Kirkuk

by Abdallah Ibrahim Agence France-Presse KIRKUK, Iraq – Iraqi forces Friday retook positions controlled by Kurdish peshmerga fighters since 2014 in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk amid a bitter row with the Kurds over a vote for independence last month. A senior Kurdish official said thousands of heavily armed fighters had been deployed to defend themselves “at any cost” against the Iraqi operation and called for international intervention. Ethnically divided but historically Kurdish-majority Kirkuk is one of […]

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Islamic State attacks Kurdish outposts in Kirkuk

Islamic State militants struck at Kurdish forces in the northern province of Kirkuk on Friday (January 30). Police said Islamic State launched mortars and attacked positions of Kurdish fighters in four districts southwest of Kirkuk city. Militants later detonated a car bomb at a disused hotel in Kirkuk city centre and clashed with peshmerga forces. Kurdish forces later found the body of a militant in the hotel and threw the body over a balcony down […]

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