Kurdish forces

Two suicide attacks kill five in Iraqi city of Kirkuk

Kirkuk - Muslimchronicle

Two suicide bombers struck in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding more than 20 others, police and medical sources said. The interior ministry said the attacks targeted a mosque on Atlas Street in central Kirkuk and gave an initial casualty toll of one killed and 16 wounded. It is the firstRead more

Iraqi forces take control of Kurdish-held areas in Mosul’s Niveveh’s province

Baghdad - Muslimchronicle

Iraqi forces have taken control of areas previously held by Kurdish forces in Mosul’s Nineveh province in northern Iraq, a military statement said on Wednesday. The areas were evacuated by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters before the arrival of the Iraqi forces on Tuesday, the statement said. The Peshmerga had taken them over the past three years as part of the warRead more

Iraq army says has achieved goals in Kurd operation

Baghdad - Muslimchronicle

Iraqi government forces said on Wednesday that they had achieved their objectives in a lightning 48-hour operation against Kurdish forces in disputed territory outside the autonomous Kurdish region. On Monday and Tuesday, Iraqi troops and allied militia retook the northern province of Kirkuk and its lucrative oil fields, as well as formerly Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh and Diyala provinces, inRead more

Islamic State sliding from defeat to defeat

Beirut - Muslimchronicle

The Islamic State group seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 as it sought to establish its self-declared “caliphate”, but has faced a series of major defeats in recent months. Forces backed by a US-led coalition have ousted the jihadists from Iraqi bastions such as Mosul and the extremists also have lost control of more than half of theirRead more

Baghdad accuses Kurds of 'declaration of war'

Baghdad - Muslimchronicle

Baghdad said Sunday that foreign Kurdish forces were present in the province of Kirkuk in what amounted to a "declaration of war", dramatically raising the stakes in its dispute with Iraq's Kurds. Kurdish officials denied Baghdad's claim that forces from Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were among its peshmerga fighters in an armed standoff with Iraqi troops in theRead more

Exchange of artillery fire south of Kirkuk: Kurdish officers

Kirkuk - Muslimchronicle

Clashes broke out early Monday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces exchanged artillery fire south of the city of Kirkuk, peshmerga officers said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Iraqi military sources also reported exchange of Katyusha rocket fire to the south of the capital of the eponymous province, which is contested by both the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish autonomousRead more

Baghdad says PKK presence in Kirkuk amounts to 'declaration of war'

Baghdad - Muslimchronicle

Baghdad said Sunday that PKK fighters were among Kurdish forces in a standoff with its army in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk, in what it said amounted to a "declaration of war". The National Security Council headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said it viewed as a "dangerous escalation" and a "declaration of war" the presence of "fightersRead more

Iraq troops in armed standoff with Kurd forces

Iraq - Muslimchronicle

Thousands of Iraqi troops were locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish forces in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk on Saturday as Washington scrambled to avert fighting between the key allies in the war against the Islamic State group. Armored cars of the Iraqi Army bearing the national flag were posted on the bank of a river on theRead more

Kurds, Iraqi forces in standoff as Baghdad sets deadline

Maryam Beik - Muslimchronicle

Thousands of Iraqi troops were locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish forces in the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk as Washington scrambled to avert fighting between its allies in the war against the Islamic State group. The Kurds said Saturday that Baghdad had set a deadline for their forces to surrender positions they took during the fightback against theRead more