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Iraqi Forces, Near Kirkuk, Say They’ve Seized Key Sites Iraqi Forces Say They’ve Taken Control of Kirkuk From Kurds
(35 minutes later)
KIRKUK, Iraq — Hours after moving to reclaim control of the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraqi government forces said Monday that they had reached the outskirts of the city, seizing oil fields and other important sites from Kurdish forces that had held the territory since 2014. KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraqi government troops entered the city of Kirkuk on Monday without a fight, taking up positions inside the city after Kurdish fighters withdrew, the Iraqi military command said.
Iraqi commanders ordered the operation after a contentious independence vote on Sept. 25 in the oil-rich Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Baghdad, Washington and most international leaders condemned the referendum.
The referendum significantly increased tensions in the region, with Iraq and the United States warning that it would effectively break up the country, undermine the fight against Islamic State militants, foment ethnic divisions and create instability.
Military commanders in Baghdad said their troops had taken control of an industrial district on the western edge of Kirkuk, as well as a power plant and refinery adjacent to the oil fields outside the city. The military command also said that government forces had secured control of a military airport west of the city.
As cheering crowds looked on, Iraqi forces removed a Kurdish flag that had flown over the governor’s compound and left intact an Iraqi flag mounted beside it, local officials said. They said Iraqi troops were driving through the city, removing pesh merga flags and banners and replacing them with Iraqi flags.
Local officials said Arab and Turkmen residents of Kirkuk, a city of about one million, fired weapons into the air as national forces drove through the city. Iraqi troops took over the provincial governor’s compound, the military command in Baghdad said.
The operation came as divisions within the Kurdish command broke into the open on Monday, with officials from a Kurdish opposition party, the Patriotic Union or Kurdistan, or P.U.K., saying that its fighters had agreed to make way for the advancing Iraqi forces even as other fighters loyal to the governing Kuristan Democratic Party, or K.D.P., continued to battle.
The government forces moved in after pesh merga fighters for the P.U.K. withdrew from Kirkuk under an agreement reached with the Iraqi military.
The regional Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani of the K.D.P., spearheaded the referendum and included areas whose legal status is constitutionally fraught, among them Kirkuk Province and its oil fields.
Kurdish security forces loyal to his main political rival control many of the strategic points in Kirkuk, and in recent days emissaries from Baghdad had worked to negotiate their withdrawal.
Officials in Baghdad said the provincial governor, Najmaldin O. Karim, had left Kirkuk for Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region. Mr. Karim could not be reached for comment. He had been fired by Baghdad earlier this year, but remained in office because Kurdish fighters controlled the city.
Iraqi troops also removed a Kurdish flag from a large statue of a pesh merga fighter that Kurdish leaders had erected at the gates to the city. They raised an Iraqi flag in its place, according to local officials, in line with a statement earlier in the day from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, who issued a statement ordering troops to raise the Iraqi flag in all disputed areas reclaimed by government forces.
The quick advance pitted one American-trained military force against another. Iraqi government troops and the Kurdish forces, known as pesh merga, are both part of the American-led coalition battling the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.The quick advance pitted one American-trained military force against another. Iraqi government troops and the Kurdish forces, known as pesh merga, are both part of the American-led coalition battling the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Divisions within the Kurdish command broke into the open, with officials from a Kurdish opposition party saying that its fighters had agreed to make way for the advancing Iraqi forces even as other forces continued to battle. The American-led coalition has provided training, weapons, airstrikes and artillery to the Iraqi military as well as pesh merga fighters. It has not provided assistance to or coordinated with the Shiite militias, Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the coalition in Baghdad said last week.
Iraqi commanders ordered the operation after a contentious independence vote on Sept. 25 in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Baghdad, Washington and most all international leaders condemned the referendum. In Erbil, the pesh merga general command said in a statement that Shiite militias had taken part in operations in Kirkuk Province — “a flagrant declaration of war against the nation of Kurdistan,” the statement said. The military command in Baghdad said there was an understanding that the Shiite Muslim militias would not enter Kirkuk.
Iraq’s regional Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, spearheaded the referendum and included areas whose legal status is constitutionally fraught, among them Kirkuk Province and its oil fields. Kurdish security forces loyal to his main political rival control many of the strategic points in Kirkuk, and in recent days emissaries from Baghdad had worked to negotiate their withdrawal. The government forces that entered the city on Monday afternoon included the counterterrorism service, which has worked closely with coalition forces. The national paramilitary police and the Interior Ministry’s rapid response forces also took up positions inside Kirkuk, the military command said.
Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the coalition in Baghdad, said all American forces in the area were watching the situation, but were out of the fighting. He said force protection measures had been imposed to ensure their safety. In a statement Monday afternoon, the American-led coalition said the movements of government military vehicles were “coordinated movements, not attacks.”
“We are monitoring the situation closely and strongly urge all sides to avoid additional escalatory actions,” Colonel Dillon said. “We opposed violence from any party, and urge against destabilizing actions that distract from the fight against ISIS and further undermine Iraq’s stability.” The statement said clashes early Monday were precipitated by “a misunderstanding” and was “not deliberate as two elements tried to link up under limited visibility conditions” at night.
Military commanders in Baghdad said their troops had taken control of an industrial district on the western edge of Kirkuk, as well as a power plant and refinery adjacent to the oil fields outside the city. The military command also said government forces had secured control of a military airport west of the city. The coalition is not supporting either side in the Kirkuk conflict, the coalition statement added. Col. Dillon said all American troops in the area were safe and under force protection measures.
Among the sites the Iraqi forces claimed was a military base known as K-1, northwest of Kirkuk. Iraqi officers interviewed near the base on Sunday said that American forces had used the facility in the past.
K-1 was the main military base in Kirkuk Province for Iraqi government troops when they abandoned their weapons and fled an assault by Islamic State militants.
On Monday, a Kurdish commander from the governing political party in the Kurdistan region said his forces had mounted a counterattack about 15 miles west of the city. He said reinforcements with “sophisticated weapons” had arrived to support Kurdish fighters in the area.
“They are preparing to liberate the area” from Iraqi forces, said the commander, Gen. Mohammed Raiger.
A statement released by the Kurdistan Region Security Council said pesh merga fighters had destroyed five American-supplied Humvees used by Iraqi forces, and would continue to resist them.
“This was unprovoked attack,” the statement said of the government military advance. The council is controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or K.D.P., led by Mr. Barzani, the region’s president.
But a leader of a rival Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or P.U.K., said the party had agreed to vacate its military positions and hand them over to government forces early Monday morning. Wista Raool, commander of P.U.K. pesh merga forces south of Kirkuk, said the party sought to return the oil fields to the central government.
Mr. Raool accused Mr. Barzani and his party of “stealing” the oil from the central government. Many members of the P.U.K., which maintains its own pesh merga force, opposed the referendum vote because it was spearheaded by Mr. Barzani.
Iraqi military commanders said fighting broke out early Monday between advancing government forces and pesh merga fighters from Mr. Barzani’s faction, just as the P.U.K. forces were handing over their positions. The commanders spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.Iraqi military commanders said fighting broke out early Monday between advancing government forces and pesh merga fighters from Mr. Barzani’s faction, just as the P.U.K. forces were handing over their positions. The commanders spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Mr. Barzani’s supporters had vowed to fight any attempt by Iraqi forces to reclaim control of the Kirkuk area, which was captured by Kurdish forces after Iraqi troops fled an assault by Islamic State militants in 2014. Wista Raool, commander of P.U.K. pesh merga forces south of Kirkuk, said the party sought to return the oil fields to the federal government.
The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has demanded that Kurdish leaders surrender control of Kirkuk city and Kirkuk Province, the oil fields, and other disputed areas that Kurds took over amid the power vacuum. He repeatedly said in recent days that his government had no plans to attack Kurdish forces defending the Kirkuk area. Mr. Raool accused Mr. Barzani and his party of “stealing” the oil from the Iraqi government. Many members of the P.U.K., which maintains its own pesh merga force, opposed the referendum vote because it was led by Mr. Barzani.
In a statement released Monday, Mr. Abadi said he had warned Kurdish leaders that the referendum would compel Baghdad to reclaim disputed areas, including Kirkuk and its oil fields. He said Mr. Barzani’s party was motivated by “personal and partisan interests.” Northwest of the city, near oil fields that Kurds have controlled since 2014, pesh merga fighters from the K.D.P. remained dug into positions Monday near the city of Dibis, about 30 miles from Tirkrit.
Mr. Abadi called on Iraqi civilians in and around the city of Kirkuk to support government forces and expose “those who want to cause bad blood and sedition among the people.” The commander of forces there, Kamal Karkokly, said in an interview at his command post Sunday that his fighters would not surrender their positions.
Kurdish leaders have said that Baghdad moved a large number of troops to confrontation lines south of Kirkuk in early October, after the coalition drove Islamic State militants from their last major urban stronghold in Iraq: the city of Hawija, about 40 miles southwest of Kirkuk. “We have enough weapons,” Mr. Karkokly said. “We can fight as long as we have to.”
The independence vote strained relations not only between the Kurdish authorities and Baghdad, but also between the Kurds and Washington. The American government had adamantly opposed the referendum, saying it would undermine the fight against Islamic State militants, foment ethnic divisions and create instability in Iraq.
Mr. Barzani rejected an American proposal last month to cancel the referendum and enter negotiations with Baghdad facilitated by the United States.
On Monday, residents of the city of Kirkuk said that pesh merga forces from the P.U.K. were patrolling the city, but that the local and federal police had taken responsibility for public safety. No fighting was reported inside the city, home to Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens.
The city’s police chief, Gen. Khatab Omar, said in an interview inside his police compound on Sunday that he was worried about clashes between rival ethnic groups in the city. He said he had posted police units outside the headquarters of several political parties.