Iraqi forces seize disputed town after clashes with Kurds

ALTUN KUPRI, Iraq — Iraqi troops seized a town from Kurdish forces after a brief but intense firefight Friday, capping a dramatic week of maneuvers that saw the Kurds hand over territory across northern Iraq.

By evening, the Iraqi forces were in full control of the town of Altun Kupri though Kurdish forces, known as the peshmerga, were still shelling the town.

Altun Kupri is the latest town to be retaken by federal authorities from Kurdish control after Baghdad made clear this week it was planning to roll back Kurdish forces’ gains during their joint war against the Islamic State group and revert the border lines to the 2014 map of Iraq.

Kurdish authorities appeared intent on making the Altun Kupri their symbolic last stand against the more powerful Iraqi army, after the peshmerga withdrew from other so-called disputed areas peacefully earlier in the week.

“The Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces have resisted heroically in this confrontation and have recorded a great honor,” the Kurdish general command said in a statement released around noon.

A commander of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is fighting alongside the government troops, said there were no orders to advance beyond Altun Kupri and enter the country’s autonomous Kurdish region.

Ercuman Turkmen, the PMF commander, said from inside the town that his forces were being targeted by sniper fire. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone.

The fight for Altun Kupri was the first instance of sustained clashes and artillery fire since the Iraqi force on Monday took back the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

At the town hospital, an AP reporter counted six civilians killed and 15 wounded. It was unclear how they sustained their wounds, or if there were other casualties.

The town, with a population of about 9,000, was mostly empty as many of the residents have fled the fighting.

A resident said he had left a day previously, anticipating the clashes, but had to return Friday to rescue his brother, who was stuck without a vehicle.

“I saw homes were hit by shelling,” said Mohammed Sadreddine, an employee for the local water authority. He found shelter in Kirkuk.