Iraqi Forces Say They Have Seized Taken Key Sites In Kirkuk From The Kurds

Al Jazeera: Kirkuk offensive: Thousands flee as Iraqi army advances

Thousands of people are leaving the Iraqi city of Kirkuk as the Iraqi army advances on Kurdish military positions around the city.

Federal forces, backed by Shia militia, have launched a major offensive over two fronts on Monday, aimed at retaking the Kurdish-held city.

Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the outskirts of Kirkuk, said an increasing number of Kirkuk residents were trying to flee.

"Thousands of cars are filling the roads leading out of Kirkuk and the numbers are increasing. There is a lot of fear in the city [due to] the Iraqi army's advance."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: That was fast. There was some resistance, but this is probably the reason why the Iraqi army was successful .... Peshmerga withdraws from two regions in Kirkuk, as Iraqi troops advance (Iraqi News).

Update: Iraqi forces taking over Kirkuk ‘a declaration of war’ – Kurdish Peshmerga (RT)

More News On Iraq's Military Operation To Seize Key Sites In Kirkuk From The Kurds

Iraqi forces seize Kirkuk from Kurds in bold advance -- Reuters
Kurds withdraw as Iraqi forces push into disputed Kirkuk -- AP
Iraqi forces retake airport, military base, oil field from Kurds in Kirkuk -- France 24
Iraqi forces say in control of roads, infrastructure near Kirkuk -- AFP
Iraqi forces remove Kurdish flag from Kirkuk governorate building: residents -- Reuters
Kirkuk: Iraqi forces capture key sites from Kurds -- BBC
Iraqi Forces Say They've Taken Key Sites in Kirkuk -- New York Times
Iraqi Forces Begin 'Major, Multi-Pronged' Attack on Kurds to Retake Kirkuk -- AP
Clashes between Iraqi, Kurdish troops close to Kirkuk city -- AFP
Iraqi forces clash with Kurds in operation to 'impose security' on Kirkuk -- The Guardian
Iraqi troops advance on Kurdish-controlled oil fields in Kirkuk -- DW
Iraq Seizes Oil Fields as Fighting Flares Over Kurds' State Push -- Bloomberg
Kirkuk: A crisis waiting to happen, with consequences for region -- Tim Lister, CNN

Kirkuk Is The Epicenter Of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Jesse Rosenfeld, The Daily Beast: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Fighting between Kurds and Shia militias threatens to erupt around Kirkuk and nearby oil fields. ISIS watches and waits.

KIRKUK, Iraq — Tensions in the ancient city of Kirkuk are threatening to boil over as Kurdish forces move to turn their battle lines with ISIS into the border for a Kurdish state.

The city traditionally has had a mix of Iraq’s main ethnic and confessional groups—Kurds, Turkmens (many of whom are Shia), Shia Arabs and Sunni Arabs. But the province is rich in oil and natural gas that the Kurds deem essential as they plan for economic independence, especially since the Kurdistan Regional Government signed a major oil deal with Turkey. They don’t intend to share it. And hostilities with Shia Arabs are growing increasingly dangerous.

Update: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War -- AP

WNU Editor: The old animosities and hatreds keep on popping up between the different sectarian groups .... even when facing a greater threat from the Islamic State.

City Of Kurkik -- One Of Iraq's Many Flashpoints

Of all the political problems facing Iraq, perhaps none is so intractable as the fate of Kirkuk, a city of 900,000 that Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens all claim. Left, the aftermath of a suicide attack on Kurdish demonstrators three weeks ago. Photo: Benjamin Lowy/VII Network

Kurds Assert Control Over Kirkuk --
Houston Chronicle/New York Times

KIRKUK, IRAQ — The phone rang, and it was answered by a Kurdish security commander, Hallo Najat, sitting in his office in this deeply divided city.

On the line, he said, was a U.N. official wanting to know whether it was true that the Kurdish militia, the peshmerga, had left its bases in northern Iraq and was occupying Kirkuk.

No, Najat told the caller. But after hanging up, he wryly revealed the deeper truth about Kirkuk, combustible for its mix of ethnicities floating together on a sea of oil: The Kurds already control it.

"It's true," Najat said. "What is the need for the troops?"

Of all the political problems facing Iraq today, perhaps none is so intractable as the fate of Kirkuk, a city of 900,000 that Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens all claim as their own. The explosive quarrel over the city is one major barrier to creating stable political structures in the rest of Iraq.

Read more ....

More News On Kirkuk

Ethnic clashes feared in Kirkuk -- UPI
IRAQ: Threat of ethnic tension, violence in Kirkuk -- Reuters
Kirkuk A Flashpoint For Ethnic Divisions In Iraq -- NPR
In Kirkuk Christian and Muslim leaders pray for peace in the country -- Asia News
"Battle for Kirkuk" continues -- Kurdish Globe
Kurdish forces refuse to quit Iraq battlefield province -- AFP
Kirkuk reflects challenges of ethnic conflict in Iraq -- USA Today
Fears of New Fighting as Tensions Mount Over Kirkuk -- Alternet
Kirkuk Derails Iraq's Election Law -- Policy Watch/Peace Watch
Kirkuk Must Remain United (Opinion) -- Institute For War And Peace Reporting

My Comment: Where Kirkuk goes .... is where Iraq will go. The Kurds are believed to be the majority ethnic group in the city (just above 50%), but the other ethnic groups are significant and are looking at Baghdad for support. It is not in anyone's interest for an arm fight to happen in this city .... but Kirkuk has such a lousy history,
one must always assume the worse.

Iraqi Parliament Deadlocks Over Kirkuk

An Iraqi soldier stands guard as a U.S. military helicopter takes off at New Al-Muthana Air Base in Baghdad July 30, 2008.REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)

From Yahoo News:

BAGHDAD - Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday scheduled an emergency weekend meeting during summer recess to resolve disagreements that have blocked a provincial elections law and threaten a new wave of bloodshed in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk.

The proposed law has raised ethnic tensions in the oil-rich area, which is emerging as one of the biggest threats to U.S.-backed efforts to heal the country's sectarian rifts and prevent a resurgence of violence.

The standoff over control of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, is also the latest example of Iraqi political deadlock despite impressive military gains against Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents.

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My Comment: As mentioned in my previous post on Sadr City, the civilians of Iraq .... including those in Kirkuk .... everyone has high expectations that with peace and with Iraq's oil wealth .... good times are just down the corner. In the interim, everyone is now repositioning themselves to get the most out of the system.

Expect more Kirkuks popping up in the next few months.