Iraqi Army invades the Kurdish Kirkuk, takes full control

The federal government in Baghdad and within the city told “Al Jazeera” on Monday that Iraqi security forces had seized the governor's building in the centre of the city of Kirkuk, writes Periscopi.

According to security forces, troops were displaced into the building without any opposition from Kurdish Pesmerga fighters.

There was no immediate comment from Kurdish authorities.

The Iraqi Army said on Monday it had managed to extend control to the city airport, in addition to one oil field, the K1 military base and the town's Tza Khormatou southeast of Kirkuk.

As the Iraqi army progressed, thousands of people, including civilians and the Pesmerga fighters, fled the multiethnic contractor city, home with about one million Arabs, Kurds, Turks and Christians.

This seems to be a complete pull from the Pesmerga inside and around the city of”, said Charles Stratford of Al Jazeera.

He pointed out that it was the truly surprising “” the speed that Kirkuk had fallen, with only 15 hours of Iraqi forces needed to capture the city.

Many people were very angry with this attraction,” Stratford said.

Kirkuk's province is one of the two main oil production regions in Iraq, believed to have about four per cent of the world's oil resources.

It lies outside the official borders of the Kurdish semi-anom territory and is home to Kurds, Arabs, Turks and Christians.

The vast majority of Turks and Arabs who have lived in Kirkuk for generations boycotted the referendum./Periscopi/

Statement From A SAAIB AHL AL HAQ, a nonorious secitarian militia on their operation in Kirkuk, they are public speaking and offering PUCLAYERS collection. Pic.twitter. com/ UFg94hpO42

) Hemin Hawram (@eminhawrami) October 16, 2017