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Kirkuk: Clashes reported after Iraqi forces advance on Kurdish-held sites Kirkuk: Iraqi forces capture key sites from Kurds
(about 3 hours later)
Clashes have been reported between Iraqi and Kurdish forces after Baghdad sent troops towards disputed areas held by the Kurds in Kirkuk province. Iraqi government forces have captured key installations outside the disputed city of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters.
State TV said government forces had taken control of some areas, including oil fields, "without fighting". But Kurdish officials denied this. A military statement said units had taken control of the K1 military base, the Baba Gurgur oil and gas field, and a state-owned oil company's offices.
An exchange of artillery fire is said to have occurred south of Kirkuk city. Baghdad said the Peshmerga had withdrawn "without fighting", but clashes were reported south of Kirkuk.
The US government has said it is very concerned and urged dialogue "as the best option to defuse tensions". The operation was launched a month after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum.
Why was the operation launched? Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said the vote, in which residents overwhelmingly backed secession, was illegal and demanded it be annulled.
Tensions between Iraq's Arab-led central government and the autonomous Kurdistan Region intensified after people living in areas under its control voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum last month. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) insisted it was legitimate.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the referendum was unconstitutional and demanded it be annulled. The Kurdistan Regional Government insisted it was legitimate and called for dialogue. US officials said they were "engaged with all parties in Iraq to de-escalate tension".
Crisis talks on Sunday failed to resolve the stand-off between the two sides. What does the government want?
The Iraqi government said overnight that it had launched the operation in Kirkuk to "secure bases" and "federal installations". The Arab-led central government said it had launched the operation in Kirkuk province to "secure bases and government facilities", and also to "preserve the lives and interests" of Kirkuk's Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians.
Kurdish officials said Iraqi troops had been advancing alongside government-backed Shia militias south of Kirkuk city and intended to take control of oil fields and an airbase. On Monday morning, the Iraqi military announced that elite units had been "re-deployed" at the K1 base, about 5km (3 miles) north-west of the city of Kirkuk, and that other troops had taken control of the nearby Leylan area, the Baba Gurgur oil field, and the headquarters of the North Oil Company.
A KRG official told Reuters news agency that the infrastructure targeted still remained under Kurdish control. The military also said troops had taken control of a military airport, police station, power plant and several industrial areas, as well as key bridges, roads, junctions.
Hemin Hawrami, an aide to Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani, earlier said Kurdish leaders rejected the "military option" but were "ready to defend" the city against outside forces. The Kurdistan Region Security Council accused Baghdad of launching an "unprovoked attack" and said the Peshmerga would "continue to defend Kurdistan, its peoples and interests".
A spokesperson for Mr Barzani later accused Iraqi forces of launching a war against the Kurds. Peshmerga had destroyed five US-made Humvees used by the Popular Mobilisation, a paramilitary force dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, it added.
What is disputed? Peshmerga spokesman Brig Gen Bahzad Ahmed told the Associated Press that the fighting south of Kirkuk had caused "lots of casualties". He alleged that pro-government forces had also "burnt lots of houses and killed many people" in Tuz Khurmatu, 75km south of Kirkuk, and Daquq.
There was no way of verifying the reports, but a doctor at a hospital in Tuz Khurmatu told AFP news agency that two people had been killed by artillery fire.
What's happening inside Kirkuk?
By Orla Guerin, BBC News
On the streets of Kirkuk we have seen armed Kurdish civilians - old and young, but almost no Kurdish security forces. One man told us he was ashamed the Peshmerga had abandoned some positions outside the city overnight.
We have heard plenty of defiance from locals. "If we have to die, we will die here in our city," one man said.
But the city has been shutting up shop in the past few hours, with the roads emptying and people rushing for home.
As we filmed at the main checkpoint at the southern edge of Kirkuk there was a sudden burst of automatic gunfire. It seemed to come from a location where Shia militia units are in position.
Why is Kirkuk disputed?
Kirkuk is an oil-rich province claimed by both the Kurds and the central government. It is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but its provincial capital has large Arab and Turkmen populations.Kirkuk is an oil-rich province claimed by both the Kurds and the central government. It is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but its provincial capital has large Arab and Turkmen populations.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when Islamic State (IS) militants swept across northern Iraq and the army collapsed. Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when Islamic State (IS) militants swept across northern Iraq and the Iraq army collapsed.
The Iraqi parliament asked Mr Abadi to deploy troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the referendum result was announced, but he said last week that he would accept them being governed by a "joint administration" and that he did not want an armed confrontation.The Iraqi parliament asked Mr Abadi to deploy troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the referendum result was announced, but he said last week that he would accept them being governed by a "joint administration" and that he did not want an armed confrontation.
"We won't use our army against our people or to launch a war against our Kurdish citizens," the prime minister said. On Sunday, his cabinet accused the KRG of deploying non-Peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk, including members of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it said was tantamount to a "declaration of war". But KRG officials denied this.
Parliament also accused the KRG of deploying foreign fighters in Kirkuk, including members of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it said was akin to a declaration of war. But KRG officials denied this. Why does this matter?
International concern By Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
The independence referendum was not only vehemently opposed by Baghdad, but also by much of the international community. These are the opening moves in what threatens to be a new conflict in Iraq; a battle for the control of territory captured from IS.
There is concern about the vote's potentially destabilising effects, particularly with the ongoing battle against IS. Kurdish fighters are emboldened by the recent referendum which saw a huge vote for Kurdish independence.
On Sunday, Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal said that the US was urging against "destabilising actions that distract from the fight against [IS] and further undermine Iraq's stability". The Baghdad government will take the view that it is simply seeking to restore the status quo prior to the emergence of IS.
"We oppose violence from any party," she added. To say things are complicated is an understatement.
Iran and Turkey, which have Kurdish minorities and are fiercely opposed to Iraqi Kurds gaining independence, have backed Baghdad's response to the referendum. The Kurds themselves are divided. Other ethnic militias have their own interests to defend.
Who are the Kurds? And the US seems unable to halt the fighting as it watches US trained and armed Iraqi units confront Kurdish groups who are also Washington's allies.
Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never obtained a permanent nation state.
They are one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.
In Iraq, where they make up an estimated 15-20% of the population of 37 million, Kurds faced decades of repression before they acquired autonomy in 1991.