Iraqi forces detain dozens in major offensive in oil-rich city of Kirkuk

BAGHDAD: Authorities imposed a daylong curfew in the northern city of Kirkuk and surrounding areas on Saturday as Iraqi security forces captured dozens of suspected militants during a major offensive amid fears of violence in the oil-rich area.

Acting on intelligence, more than 1,000 Iraqi police and army soldiers poured into the streets of the violence-plagued city, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad.


…Kirkuk is an especially coveted city for both the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad and the Kurdish one in Irbil.

Much of Iraq’s vast oil wealth lies under the ground in the region, as well as in the Shiite-controlled south. Kurds refer to Kirkuk as the “Kurdish Jerusalem,” and control of the area’s oil resources and its cultural attachment to Kurdistan have been hotly contested.

IHT