Iraq Says Mission Accomplished in Kirkuk Operation

Iraqi forces said Wednesday they had achieved their objectives in an operation to restore security to territories seized by Peshmerga forces during 2014 push against ISIL Takfiri group.

On Monday and Tuesday, Iraqi troops retook the northern province of Kirkuk and its lucrative oil fields, as well as formerly Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh and Diyala provinces — all outside the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

“Security has been restored in sectors of Kirkuk, including Dibis, Al-Multaqa, and the Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields,” the federal government’s Joint Operations Command said.

“Forces have been redeployed and have retaken control of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa, Mosul dam, Sinjar and other areas in the Nineveh plains,” it added.

The 48-hour operation saw Kurdish forces almost entirely confined to their semi-autonomous region in the north.