Iraqi federal forces restore Kirkuk Air Base from Peshmerga

CAIRO – 16 October 2017: The federal forces have restored control of Kirkuk military airport, Al Hurriya Air Base and other vital sites in Kirkuk upon directives from the Iraqi leadership.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi directed the Armed Forces to protect all citizens in Kirkuk, following news that a vast territory in Kirkuk Monday will be restored, an official statement by Abadi said.

The federal forces have controlled gas and electricity plants in Kirkuk, in addition to Mariam and Khaled bridges, Sir Glan village and police station, and several checkpoints in northern city.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Abadi, directed the Armed Forces to impose security in Kirkuk in cooperation with residents of Kirkuk and the Peshmerga forces.

“The Iraqi forces' priority is to protect the people of Kirkuk, and we call on citizens to cooperate with them,” Abadi reiterated.

The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, police forces and the army’s ninth brigade regained control of a vast territory in Kirkuk including the oil well, Baba Gurgur, without clashing with the Peshmerga forces located in Kirkuk.

The multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk, home to one of Iraq's largest oil fields, was taken over by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in July 2014 after Iraqi government troops left the city ahead of a possible attack by radical Islamic State insurgents who have already seized two major Iraqi cities.