UPDATE 2 - Iraqi forces, Peshmerga clash in Kirkuk sub-district

*UPDATES WITH COMMENTS BY AL-SISTANI, PESHMERGA COMMAND

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD/ERBIL (AA) - Iraqi forces on Friday wrested control of a strategic sub-district of Kirkuk province following clashes with Peshmerga forces, according to Iraqi and Kurdish sources.

“Iraqi Federal Police and counter-terrorism forces, along with Hashd al-Shaabi fighters, have secured Kirkuk’s northern Altunkopru sub-district,” the Iraqi Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“Altunkopru is now under the total control of federal forces,” the statement added.

Iraqi Army Captain Jabbar Hasan told Anadolu Agency that Iraqi federal forces had given the Peshmerga 24 hours to vacate their strongholds in Altunkopru and withdraw to areas controlled by the Erbil-based Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

Peshmerga forces, however, had rejected the ultimatum, Hasan said.

According to the army officer, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces on Friday morning launched a wide-ranging operation aimed at wresting Altunkopru from Kurdish Peshmerga forces deployed in the area.

He said violent clashes were still underway -- featuring medium and heavy weapons, including artillery -- between Iraqi federal forces and Peshmerga fighters.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a component of the KRG, appeared to confirm the reports.

On its official website, the PUK quoted an unnamed security source as saying Iraqi forces were now engaged in fierce fighting with Peshmerga in Altunkopru.

The same source went on to state that no casualties had been reported so far.

The KRG’s Peshmerga command, meanwhile, said in a statement that Iranian artillery units, operating in conjunction with Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, had been shelling Altunkopru since early Friday morning with U.S.-made weapons provided by Baghdad.

Iranian involvement in the fighting, however, has yet to be confirmed by an independent source.

-‘Triumph’

On Friday afternoon, Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s highest Shia religious authority, described the Iraqi army’s recapture of Kirkuk as “a triumph”.

“The provision of security in Kirkuk by [Iraqi] police and army forces is not a victory for one side and a defeat for the other,” according to a statement read out by al-Sistani’s spokesman in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

“It is a triumph for all citizens of Iraq,” he added.

In the statement, al-Sistani also warned against possible attempts at reprisal by certain parties in Kirkuk, urging Kurdish officials to cooperate with Baghdad within the framework of Iraq’s constitution.

Earlier this week, Iraqi forces moved into Kirkuk province -- and into other disputed parts of Iraq -- following the withdrawal of Peshmerga fighters.

Iraqi forces swiftly assumed control of strategic facilities throughout the province, including the North Oil Company, the Baba Gurgur oilfield, the K1 military base, the Mullah Abdullah oil refinery and Kirkuk’s main airport, among others.

Tension has steadily mounted between Baghdad and Erbil since Sept. 25, when Iraqis in KRG-controlled areas -- and in several disputed parts of the country -- voted on whether or not to declare independence from the Iraqi state.

According to poll results announced by the KRG, almost 93 percent of those who cast ballots voted in favor of independence.

The illegitimate referendum faced sharp opposition from most regional and international actors (including the U.S., Turkey and Iran), who had warned that the poll would distract from Iraq’s fight against terrorism and further destabilize the already-volatile region.