Washington Calls For Calm As Iraqi Forces Take Disputed Kirkuk

The U.S. has called for calm after Iraqi troops wrested the disputed northern city of Kirkuk from Kurdish control. Baghdad’s forces moved into the oil-rich region less than a month after residents of Kurdistan voted overwhelmingly to secede from Iraq in a highly contentious referendum. In this respect, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi insisted that the Kirkuk operation was necessary to “protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition.” While sporadic clashes were reported, the Kurdish forces—who have been defending the city from the Islamic State for years—withdrew without putting up much resistance. In parallel, Shiite fighters backed by both Baghdad and Iran overtook the town of Sinjar in the north-western Nineveh province. For its part, Washington now finds itself in a bind as American special forces have long been embedded within Iraqi army units as well as the Kurdish Peshmerga; they may, therefore, soon find themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield.