IRAQ Kurds, Baghdad Circle Warily Around Kirkuk, Oil and All

摘要

Kirkuk is again surfacing as a flash point between Iraq's Kurds and the federal government following Baghdad's decision in July to establish a new regional military command based near Kirkuk, the Dijla (Tigris) Operations Command, covering the Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin provinces. For both sides, it is once more about establishing facts on the ground in order to lay claim to disputed territories. Kirkuk — claimed by Iraq's Kurds but home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen — and its oil fields are the ultimate prize.