Joint forces to remain in Kirkuk until after election

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: Joint forces will be deployed in Kirkuk until after the upcoming parliamentary election in the country, a local police chief said on Sunday. “Joint personnel from the Iraqi army, Peshmerga, and the U.S. forces will remain in Kirkuk until after the parliamentary election, scheduled to take place on March 7, 2010,” Maj. Al-Hoqouqi Jamal Taher told IraqiNews.com news agency. Kirkuk, an oil-rich and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs, lies 250 northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1