Iraqi military, Iran-backed militia attack Kurdish troops near Kirkuk

RSS Feed

Iraqi military, Iran-backed militia attack Kurdish troops near Kirkuk

October 16th, 2017

Awake Goy

nsnbc : Fierce clashes erupted in the early hours of Monday, between Iraqi – Kurdish Peshmerga, predominantly Shiite, Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi a.k.a Popular Mobilization Forces. Clashes reportedly also involve regular Iraqi troops, Hashd al-Shaabi, as well as members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Iraqi military sources stated early Monday morning that “Peshmerga withdrew from the Maktab Khaled and Tal al-Ward regions, south of Kirkuk,” adding that the withdrawal came after agreement with Iraqi army and that Federal Police now control the two regions. Iraqi military sources reported that fierce clashes broke out in the early hours of Monday, between Peshmerga and al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] in some regions in Kirkuk, leaving casualties among Peshmerga. Iraqi military sources reported that more than 30 wounded military personnel were taken to hospitals while there were no estimates about losses sustained by the Pshmerga or the Hash al-Shaabi forces available yet.

Previously Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi gave orders to security troops to protect all citizens in Kirkuk. The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) then announced that Iraqi troops advanced to seize the oilfields in the province. Iraqi troops reportedly urged Peshmerga troops via speakers to hand over the locations they control in the province. Wednesday last week the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) of Iraq’s Kurdistan Autonomous Region (KAR) announced receiving threats that Iraqi joint troops are preparing for a major attack on Kurdistan from southwest Kirkuk and north of Mosul.

The escalation between Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad occurred after Kurdistan carried out the independence referendum on September 25, a step that was opposed by regional and international forces as well as Baghdad. Consequently, Baghdad imposed a ban on international flights to and from Kurdistan, after the region declined handing over the two airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah to the Iraqi government. Both Baghdad, Shiite Iraqi militia leaders, top-Iranian officials and top-Turkish officials had warned that the referendum on Kurdistan’s independence would lead to war.

Hemin Hawrami, senior assistant to Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region (KAR), said that the Peshmerga left the two positions due to “internal issues” between the officials of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK], the dominant party in Kirkuk with own security forces and Peshmerga. He also claimed that there were some “ambiguous dealings,” that resulted in the withdrawal. Other sources among Peshmerga troops in the region told nsnbc international that the decision to withdraw was made to help consolidate a more defendable frontline.

(archives)

Peshmerga claimed in the early hours of Monday that they destroyed four Iraqi vehicles. A Kurdish official said that they have pushed back Iraqi forces twice since the fighting began between the two sides in Taza Khurmatu. The objectives for the Iraqi advances are the K-1 military base,Kirkuk airport and the oil fields that are under Kurdish control south and west of Kirkuk, the Kurdistan Security Council stated.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani has ordered all Peshmerga units to not initiate a war with the Iraqi forces, but if attacked, then they are given “green light to use every power” to fight against the advancing forces, said Hawrami. Kurdistan’s Vice President Kosrat Rasul issued a statement, saying that they are entitled to the right to self-defense. He said:

“It is unfortunate that the Iraqi forces and the Hashd al-Shaabi intend to attack Kirkuk. We want to reassure everyone that that we and the brave Peshmerga are in Kirkuk and will defend it. Though we do not want to initiate war, but we will defend ourselves with high morale and will not allow Kirkuk be attacked. We demand the brave and strong people of Kirkuk to help the police and security forces inside the city to better protect the situation in the city.”

Baba Gurgur oil field Iraq (archives)

The Pentagon has called on the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to “avoid escalatory actions,” and instead seek dialogue. “We oppose violence from any party, and urge against destabilizing actions that distract from the fight against ISIS and further undermine Iraq’s stability,” Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal said. “We continue to support a unified Iraq,” she said. “Despite the Kurdistan Regional Government’s unfortunate decision to pursue a unilateral referendum, dialogue remains the best option to defuse ongoing tensions and longstanding issues, in accordance with the Iraqi constitution”.

British MP Jack Lopresti, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan, warned in a statement published by the group on Friday, that Western nations should check Iranian influence in Iraq pushing Kurdish and Iraqi parties towards a possible conflict. The statement stressed

“The unwarranted aggression of the Shia militia against the Peshmerga in Kirkuk is far less to do with the post-referendum dispute between Iraqis and Kurds than Iran exploiting these divisions for its own ends.”

Thursday night, some 6,000 additional Peshmerga were deployed to Kirkuk to counter a buildup of Iranian-backed Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi forces. Kurdish security and government officials had previously issued several warnings of abnormal movements of Iraqi and Hashd forces near the disputed areas of Kirkuk and northern Nineveh province. Last week Shia – Iranian-backed militia expelled 70 Kurdish families from Khurmatu leading Kurdish Peshmerga to organize a resistance against the Iranian proxies there. The town of Khurmatu is in Iraq’s northern Diyala province. Its population is nearly 220,000 people including all its towns and villages. The Kurds make up 55 percent of the population, the Arabs 15 percent, and the Turkmen 30 percent.

Speaking to the Rudaw news agency Shwan Shamerani, commander of the Peshmerga second brigade in Kirkuk, said: “The Iraqi army and the Hashd al-Shaabi are not the only state that are attacking us. We have intelligence with 100 percent accuracy that there are also the Iranian army and the Revolutionary Guards among them.” Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim, who visited some of the civilians who have taken up arms to defend the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, said that the Peshmerga are prepared to defend the province. He also called on all able-bodied people who have their own weapons to take up arms against the Iraqi forces.

Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US Ambassador to Iraq, said in a series of tweets Monday morning that Iran’s “IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] -backed militia led by terrorist Mahdi Mohandis has begun an assault on Kirkuk,” Khalilzad said, making reference to the deputy head of the mainly Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi. Khalilzad continued, as he tagged the official account of the US presidency asking:

“Reliable reports indicate the PMF [Hashd] militia is using Abrams tanks provided by the US to the Iraqi armed forces against the Peshmerga…. Shouldn’t we disable these tanks to prevent their use by Quds force proxies?”

Karim Nuri, a commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi, told the Rudaw news agency that any force that may be fighting against the Iraqi forces are “the same as ISIS,” whose leaders are like Abu Bakir al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS militants. Meanwhile, Prime Minister al-Abadi has reportedly instructed the Iraqi forces “to secure bases [and] federal installations in Kirkuk province.” The PM added that he ordered the Iraqi Security Forces “to cooperate with Peshmerga and avoid confrontations, and to protect all civilians.”

However, British All-Party Parliamentary Group Lopresti, said last week it appears “Abadi is being sidelined” as he sees Iran’s hand behind the “unwarranted aggression” of the Shiite forces against the Peshmerga, noting that Iranian Quds commander Qassem Soleimani has been in Baghdad recently. He called on the UK government to raise the matter at the UN to urge “an immediate halt to offensive military actions” and encourage dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.

“It would be catastrophic for Kurdish/Arab relations were the Iranian proxy militia to use American weapons against our vital allies in the Peshmerga. It would demonstrate a complete abdication of responsibility to Iranian backed forces that have no interest in a peaceful settlement between Baghdad and Erbil – the key actors in the post-referendum discussions,” Lopresti stated.

The British MP is not the only voice calling for Western intervention to check Iranian expansion in a divided Iraq. Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Iraq, called on “active US engagement” to prevent conflict between the Shiite forces and the Peshmerga, spurred on by Iran. The administration of US President Donald Trump is worried about growing Iranian influence throughout the Middle East as well.

U.S. Maj. Gen. Robert P. White (2016 courtesy U.S. Armed Forces)

Ironically, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon last week, Maj. Gen. Robert White said “I’ve actually got absolutely zero proof that anybody at the senior level of the Iraqi Security Force apparatus has sent any threatening messages to the government in Erbil, or their partners in this fight against [the Islamic State].” But then again, White not having seen proof doesn’t necessarily imply that he has been looking – some say White’s statement was a political attempt to defuse the situation rather than a reflection of realities on the ground.

On Friday afternoon, Kurdistan Autonomous Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani called on the international community to intervene to prevent a “new war” between Iraqi and Kurdish forces, a war that he said would have “direct, grave consequences” that would be felt across the Middle East. As of Friday afternoon, the Peshmerga have withdrawn from a few outposts and have fortified their positions in a line of defense they believe can be protected with minimum casualties if conflict does break out in the oil-rich province.

Peshmerga to counter offensive

By noon on Monday Halgurd Hikmat, spokesperson of the Peshmerga Ministry told reporters that large numbers of reinforcements were sent to Kirkuk to make preparations in launching counter attacks against the Iraqi army and Mainly Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi who have taken over some areas previously held by the Kurdish security forces. Pursuing a stronger military plan, he vowed they will “regain control of all of the lost areas.”Hikmat added “since 2014, the Peshmerga has given most of the martyrs in areas which were unfortunately left behind,” said Hikmat of areas that are now taken by the Iraqis.

He explained that “There was no order by the Peshmerga Ministry for any unit or force of the Peshmerga to withdraw.” He added that any force who withdrew will be investigated by the Peshmerga “military court” and the Ministry’s investigation committee. The Kurdistan political leadership and the people of Kurdistan will not accept aggressions by the Iraqi army and Hashd, he said. He ensured the people of Kirkuk that “there is no agenda or plan by the Peshmerga Ministry to leave Kirkuk and the people of the heart of Kurdistan.” He added that they have coordination with the US-led coalition regarding events in Kirkuk. Speaking of the presence of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hikmat said the coalition “will not accept foreign interventions” in Iraq. He described today’s events in Kirkuk as “the beginning of a new political military phase.” “In the future phases, you will see how we will break the nose of Hashd al-Shaabi.”

CH/L – nsnbc 16.10.2017