Kurdish forces shell Iraqi troops in Kirkuk

By Amir al-Saadi

BAGHDAD (AA) – Kurdish forces are still shelling positions of government forces in the northern Altunkopru sub-district in Kirkuk province, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.

In a statement, the Joint Operations Command said the Peshmerga forces are stationed three kilometers (less than two miles) away from government forces positions.

“They are firing mortars and thermal rockets at our positions,” the statement said.

“The federal forces can silence the shelling, but we did not target them out of keenness to keep the safety or our sons from Peshmerga forces,” it added.

On Friday, Iraqi government forces wrested control of Altunkopru from the Peshmerga, to totally seize Kirkuk province, one of the disputed regions between Erbil and Baghdad.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said federal forces had headed to Altunkopru after “calls by the people as the sub-district became a nest for PKK fighters and Iranian Kurdish fighters besides Peshmerga”.

A sub-district of Kirkuk province, Altunkopru is located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Erbil.

Earlier this week, Iraqi troops seized control of all areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, including Kirkuk.

Peshmerga forces took control of these areas shortly after the Daesh terrorist group overran vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in mid-2014.