Iraqi forces retake Kirkuk base: Army
Seized an airport and oil field from Kurdish fighters
Kirkuk, Oct 16: 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 rapid advance, which follows weeks of soaring tensions between two US allies in the battle against the Islamic State group, aims to retake oil and military sites that Kurdish forces took over during the fightback against the jihadists.
The US-led coalition against ISIS urged the two sides to “avoid escalatory actions” and to focus on fighting the extremists, who are on the verge of losing their last strongholds in Iraq. Thousands of residents were seen fleeing Kurdish districts of Kirkuk city, heading in buses and cars towards the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. “We’re leaving because we’re scared there will be clashes” in the ethnically mixed city of 850,000 people, said 51-year-old Chounem Qader.
At the same time crowds on the streets of Kirkuk’s southern outskirts welcomed Iraqi forces as they entered the city, where they were seen raising Iraqi flags in the place of Kurdish ones.
Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces exchanged fire south of the capital of the oil-rich province, after the launch of the operation which triggered a spike in oil prices on world markets.
A Kurdish health official said at least 10 peshmerga fighters were killed and 27 wounded during fighting overnight, but there was no confirmation of the toll from the Kurdish government. The rapid progress of Iraqi forces suggested that Kurdish fighters were withdrawing with little or no resistance.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said forces had retaken the K1 military base northwest of Kirkuk, the military airport east of the city and the Baba Gargar oil field. — AFP