Iraqi Forces Clash With Kurdish-Region Near Irbil.
Image Reuters.
Armed clashes broke out near Irbil, (the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region), on Tuesday.
The Tuesday’s clashes took place in Al-Mahmoudiya, a small town near the Iraq-Syria border, when Kurdish troops blocked the way of Iraqi Urgent Response Division units moving from Zummar, northwestern Mosul, toward Habur to gain control of the border crossing and redeploy troops in the area.
More than three soldiers were killed and two others were injured, regional and federal military commanders told Arab News.
In response to a controversial referendum held by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on independence, Iraqi federal security forces, backed by Shiite-dominated paramilitary troops, last week launched a military campaign to drive the Kurdish forces out of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
The advance of federal troops to control the western areas of Nineveh and areas adjacent to the Syrian-Iraqi border is a part of preparatory steps to secure the area and establish a new crossing called “Avacoy.” This will be next to the Habur border crossing which lies 7 km inside the Kurdish region.
Other clashes erupted in Makhmour, a town 65 km west of Irbil, when a Kurdish force attacked a checkpoint of federal police deployed in the area, wounded two policemen and took a further 13 as prisoners, local and federal military sources told Arab News.
Several video clips circulated on Tuesday on social media and they show dozens of Kurdish fighters driving Iraqi soldiers, two of them wounded, away from the checkpoint.
Kurdish region decided on Tuesday to hold legislative elections in eight months after they were delayed amid tensions over disputed territory with the central government in Baghdad, according to AFP.
Armed clashes broke out near Irbil, (the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region), on Tuesday.
The Tuesday’s clashes took place in Al-Mahmoudiya, a small town near the Iraq-Syria border, when Kurdish troops blocked the way of Iraqi Urgent Response Division units moving from Zummar, northwestern Mosul, toward Habur to gain control of the border crossing and redeploy troops in the area.
More than three soldiers were killed and two others were injured, regional and federal military commanders told Arab News.
In response to a controversial referendum held by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on independence, Iraqi federal security forces, backed by Shiite-dominated paramilitary troops, last week launched a military campaign to drive the Kurdish forces out of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
The advance of federal troops to control the western areas of Nineveh and areas adjacent to the Syrian-Iraqi border is a part of preparatory steps to secure the area and establish a new crossing called “Avacoy.” This will be next to the Habur border crossing which lies 7 km inside the Kurdish region.
Other clashes erupted in Makhmour, a town 65 km west of Irbil, when a Kurdish force attacked a checkpoint of federal police deployed in the area, wounded two policemen and took a further 13 as prisoners, local and federal military sources told Arab News.
Several video clips circulated on Tuesday on social media and they show dozens of Kurdish fighters driving Iraqi soldiers, two of them wounded, away from the checkpoint.
Kurdish region decided on Tuesday to hold legislative elections in eight months after they were delayed amid tensions over disputed territory with the central government in Baghdad, according to AFP.
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