Updated: Peshmerga withdraws from two regions in Kirkuk, as Iraqi troops advance
Iraqi army forces in Tal Afar.
Speaking to Alghad Press on Monday, a military source said “Peshmerga withdrew from Maktab Khaled and Tal al-Ward regions, south of Kirkuk,” adding that the withdrawal came after agreement with Iraqi army and that Federal Police now control the two regions.
“Fierce clashes broke out, early on the day, between Peshmerga and al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] in some regions in Kirkuk, leaving casualties among Peshmerga,” the source said.
“More than 30 wounded personnel were taken to hospitals. No estimates about victims and losses of both Peshmerga and PMFs are provided,” he added.
Moreover, the Russian Sputnik agency quoted a security source as saying that the Kurdish troops evacuated Daquq town, located 40 kilometers away from south of Kirkuk on the road leading to Baghdad.
Earlier on the day, the state-run TV reported that Iraqi troops managed to control wide regions in Kirkuk.
“The army’s Counter-Terrorism Service, the ninth armored division and the Federal Police controlled wide areas in Kirkuk,” a security source told AlSumaria News on Monday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that clashes occurred later between the troops and Peshmerga in the industrial region, south of the province.
“Sound of shooting are heard sporadically in different regions across the province,” according to the source. “al-Hashd al-Shaabi, under leadership of the Joint Operations Command, support the armed forces.”
Previously on the day, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi gave orders to security troops to protect all citizens in Kirkuk. The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) then announced that Iraqi troops advanced to seize the oilfields in the province.
Iraqi troops reportedly urged Peshmerga troops via speakers to hand over the locations they control in the province.
Kurdish media channels reported that hundreds of volunteers headed toward Kirkuk to defend it, adding that troops became in control of the K-1 military base without confrontations.
On Sunday, Saad al-Hadithi, Abadi’s office spokesman, told Sky News Arabia that there was no evidence the Iraqi government had given an 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw from Kirkuk, saying reports in that respect were rumors made by Kurdish leaderships.
Last week, the KRSC announced on Wednesday receiving threats that Iraqi joint troops are preparing for a major attack on Kurdistan from southwest Kirkuk and north of Mosul, which was dismissed by Peshmerga later.
The escalation between Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad occurred after Kurdistan carried out the independence referendum on September 25th, a step that was opposed by regional and international forces as well as Baghdad. Consequently, Baghdad imposed a ban on international flights to and from Kurdistan, after the region declined handing over the two airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah to the Iraqi government.