UPDATE - Baghdad amassing troops near Iraq's Kurd region: Erbil

*UPDATES WITH HASHD AL-SHAABI REMARKS

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi forces have no intention of entering northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, a Hashd al-Shaabi spokesman said Tuesday.

“All Hashd al-Shaabi factions are acting in accordance with the mandate of the [Iraqi] army’s general command,” Karim al-Nouri, spokesman for the Hashd al-Shaabi’s Badr faction, told Anadolu Agency.

“We are only entering areas upon instruction from the [Iraqi] military leadership,” he added.

A largely Shia fighting force, the Hashd al-Shaabi was incorporated into the Iraqi army last year. In recent months, Hashd fighters have fought alongside Iraqi regular troops in several successful campaigns against the Daesh terrorist group.

Hashd fighters also took part in operations conducted last week in the oil-rich Kirkuk province and other parts of Iraq disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

Al-Nouri's remarks came only hours after the KRG’s Ministry for Peshmerga Affairs said Baghdad was continuing to mass troops near the Kurdish region.

In a statement, the ministry complained that Iraqi forces were “not providing any room in which lines of contact might be established” with Peshmerga forces deployed in the region.

The ministry went on to vow that its forces would “defend” the Kurdish region against any incursions by Iraqi government troops.

Tension has steadily mounted between Baghdad and the Erbil-based KRG since the latter’s illegitimate Sept. 25 referendum on Kurdish regional independence.

Last week, Iraqi government forces moved into several parts of the country disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, including Kirkuk.