Iraqi soldiers killed in clashes with Kurds

[TomSea]

Iraqi soldiers killed in clashes with Kurds

BAGHDAD: Armed clashes broke out near Irbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region, on Tuesday. The fighting was between Kurdish forces and Iraqi security forces who were advancing to regain control of the last disputed areas adjacent to the Kurdish region.

At least three federal 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, its lucrative oil fields and the disputed areas adjacent to the 2003 regional borders.

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.

Read more at: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1182786/middle-east