Iraqi forces push into disputed city
Two weeks after fighting together against the Islamic State group, Iraqi forces pushed their Kurdish allies out of the disputed city of Kirkuk on Monday, seizing oil fields and other facilities amid soaring tensions over last month’s Kurdish vote for independence.
The move by the Iraqi military and its allied militias so soon after neutralizing the Islamic State group in northern Iraq hinted at a country that could once again turn on itself after disposing of a common enemy.
Civilians and federal troops pulled down Kurdish flags around the city. Kurdish Gov. Najmaddin Karim, who had stayed at his post despite being dismissed by Baghdad weeks ago, fled to Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish zone.
Revelers waving Iraq’s national flag and the flag of its Turkmen minority flooded central Kirkuk in an evening celebration. But the Shiite sectarian chants heard above the din of the rally underscored the coming political battles between Iraq and its Kurdish region.
Iraqi forces were supported — as they always are now in major operations — by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a predominantly Shiite militia coalition that the Kurds see as an instrument of Iranian policy.
In their bid to keep Kirkuk and its oil-rich countryside, Kurdish leaders whipped up fears that the Baghdad government is dominated by Tehran and would oppress Kurds if they recaptured the city.
Their fears were further affirmed after Iran came out forcefully against the Kurdish region’s nonbinding referendum for independence on Sept. 25 and then closed its official crossings to the region on Sunday.