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Late on October 15, Iraqi government forces launched a military operation to take back the area of Kirkuk from the Peshmerga, the military force of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
According to Iraqi sources, the 9th Armoured Division, the Federal Police and Iraqi Special Operations Forces, widely known as the Golden Division, entered Kirkuk city, K1 Airbase and the Khaled military camp as well as some oil fields in the city’s countryside.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) released a statement saying that the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) are involved in the operation. The KRSC also claimed that the Peshmerga destroyed at least 5 Humvees belonging to the PMU.
On October 16, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani, of the 9th Armoured Division, told Reuters that the objective of the army advance is to take control of the K1 Airbase.
Pro-Kurdish sources denied any gains by the government forces.
Earlier, the KRG-linked media claimed that PMU units deployed near Kirkuk are embedded with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Last Friday, the US designated the IRGC a terrorist group. So, KRG authorities may seek to gain more support from the US with these claims.
Formally, the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk and its oil-rich countryside are not a part of the Kurdish autonomous region. However, KRG forces seized it in 2014 when Iraqi forces were facing setbacks in the war again ISIS. Now, the KRG clearly aims to include the area in a Kurdish state that it is seeking to proclaim using the September 25 independence referendum as a pretext.
They have took it?
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/10/iraq-the-end-of-the-kurdish-independence-project.html
Yes, well spotted – a very significant piece of news – not just for the territory regained by Iraq but it clearly shows the disarray of the whole “Kurdistan” project
“During the last three days the Iraqi army, national police and counter-terrorism units, all hardened by the fight against the Islamic State, were marched onto Kirkuk. An ultimatum was issued for the Kurdish Peshmerga to leave the area. Barzani insisted on staying. He even called in PKK fighters from Turkey to help him keep the city.
Last night the inevitable happened. The Iraqi government forces moved forward and, after a few skirmishes, the Kurdish Peshmerga ran away. It is not clear who, if anyone, ordered them to retreat. Some Peshmerga units arrested other Peshmerga units. No one seemed to be in command.”
In fact the more of the article you read the better the picture for Syria looks as well –
“Barzani has lost his high stake gamble.
The dreams of an independent Kurdistan in Iraq have just been buried again. Masoud Barzani’s position has been weakened significantly. This huge blunder might cost him his head. The Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi has gained in standing and is now in position to win next years election.
These events will also have consequences for the Kurdish position in Syria. They demonstrate that they can not hope for continued U.S. support and will have to reconcile with the Syrian government”
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/10/iraq-the-end-of-the-kurdish-independence-project.html
The implications of this are surely huge and greatly encouraging.
hey “ran away” and
“they can not hope for continued U.S. support “. If that turns out to be true . . .
Barzani lost his US patronage for this battle. Thus, he lost Kirkuk.
How the US moves forward with Iraq will be interesting.
The key is Erbil.
The US may not have to help the Kurds save their capital city.
Russia has a huge oil investment with the Kurds and may provide the leverage to keep the Iraqis out.
The future for Iraq is oil, with the revenues reasonably shared. Russia and China have large stakes in Iraq for oil. Accommodation through negotiation may be the way, where now all we think is more war is in the cards. Putin will bring these parties to a rational solution.
Kurds have to share oil income or their autonomous zones will shrink badly.
With the retaking of Kirkuk and its oilfields everything has changed. Independent Kurdistan is gone. In Irak and in Syria.
Meanwhile in Syria SAA & allies are reading an offensive to retake the Omar oilfields.
Game over.
I don’t mean to change the subject, but Tchaikovsky’s Nuttcracker Suite seems a little prophetic to me in his Russian, Chinese, and Arabic dances.
@Boxtree. Russia has been long familiar with Arabian dance. US leaders should be made aware of a forgotten Middle Eastern leader who, on the way to Moscow in a cage, said what Hitler, Napoleon and a forgotten Swedish leader were to repeat later – each in their own century: “If I’d known how big Russia is, I would not have started that war”.
Breaking from AMN almasdarnews:
“The loss of Sinjar marks the second major city in Iraq that the Peshmarga forces have conceded to the government forces in the last 24 hours – the first was Kirkuk. No clashes were reported in Sinjar before the Peshmerga retreat this morning.”
Writes Elijah Magnier:
“If Abadi takes back Sinjar, the borders between Iraq & Syria will return under Iraq control: huge for the unity of Syria.”
Zion’s century-old, iron grip over the Middle East melts faster than snow in the sun.
With the ill-timed and megalomaniac ‘Eretz Kurdistan’ referendum Zion stooge Barzani delivered the ultimate proof that he is not only a gangster but an idiot too.
Kirkuk fell within 12 hours. The proud (and since months unpaid) Peshmerga fighter – not hearing the roar of approaching USAF jets – simply backed their bags and ran away. What a disaster.
Independent Kurdistan is dead. In Iraq and in Syria.
I would also like to add, that the Kurds didn’t really face the main thrust of ISIS
headchoppers. It’s easy to be victorious and ‘hold’ territory when noone is attacking you.
And the BBC (British bullshitting corporation) stories about ISIS being scared of
Kurdish female fighters was just a big LOL.
But anyways, this news is major development, USIsraeli plans are falling apart
in real time. We are witnessing history.
The dominos keep falling. Over the last few hours the Peshmergas have retreated from several cities in provinces in Nineveh, Diyala and Kirkuk.
– Iraq secures whole border in the northwest of Iraq from Peshmerga. Land continuity between Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan broken!
– Iraqi forces regain Telsuf northeast of Mosul.
– Iraqi forces secure Makhmoor, Bashiqa in Ninewa.
– Iraqi forces secure Khanaqin in Diyala as Peshmergas leave their positions.
– Yazidis flooding into Sinjar (Yazidi capital) after Iraqi liberation.
Interesting to see that the kurdish internal divisions are so quickly visible.
In the sputnik article; https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710171058299443-iraqi-army-sinjar-peshmerga/, a Barzani official accuses the Talabani PUK faction of betraying the cause. This betrayal explains the quick win of the Iraqi forces. The excuse of treason as a cause of failure is often used in the middle east.
For the more informed reader it was no surprise that the Iraqi army and Hashed al Shaabi were able to quickly take back Kirkuk, Sinjar and surrounding areas. Altough the geo political factors do play an important role there is a good argument to say that the main weakness is the kurdish homefront. On the political front Barzani’s KDP and Talabani’s PUK have little common ground. The KDP is more based on the conservative exclusive (Barzani) clanculture while the PUK held a much more inclusive view on kurdish society. This led to selfish opportunistic politics from the KDP vs more ideological politics from the PUK. Barzani had no issues with collaborating with either Saddam Hussein nor the Turkish government in his fight against Talabani. To make a long story short: they don’t trust each other and are certainly not willing to make the the sacrifices for each other needed to establish the Kurdish state.
This translates itself in the lack of military unity between the KDP and the PUK peshmerga. There is no unified command and all force multiplier elements are provided by foreign powers. The available heavy weapons can only be operated for a short period before the peshmerga’s will have to resort to guerilla style warfare. This automatically means that Barzani does not have the fundamental pillar of the state to deter, defend or defeat external threats. Especially since his own peshmerga are famous for their retreating skills leaving the real,fight to the PKK and the PUK.
Without internal unity with shared interests and a cause worth fighting an dying for the Kurdish state will remain just a phantom.