Iraqi Forces Sweep Into Kirkuk, Checking Kurdish Independence Drive - The New York Times

Iraqi Forces Sweep Into Kirkuk, Checking Kurdish Independence Drive - The New York Times

KIRKUK, Iraq — After weeks of threats and posturing, the Iraqi government began a military assault on Monday to blunt the independence drive by the nation’s Kurdish minority, wresting oil fields and a contested city from separatists pushing to break away from Iraq.

In clashes that pit two crucial American allies against each other, government troops seized the vital city of Kirkuk and surrounding oil fields, ousting the Kurdish forces who had controlled the region for three years in their effort to build an independent nation in the northern third of Iraq.

The Kurds voted overwhelmingly in a referendum three weeks ago for independence from Iraq. The United States, Baghdad and most countries in the region condemned the vote, fearing it would fuel ethnic divisions across the region, lead to the break up of Iraq and hobble the fight against the Islamic State.