Iraqi army: Peshmerga used German weapons attacking forces in Kirkuk
Peshmerga forces. File photo.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Kurdish troops used weapons supplied by Germany to attack Iraqi government forces in Kirkuk, said an Iraqi military statement on Friday.
“While we value the support world countries give to Iraq to combat Daesh (Islamic State), especially Peshmerga armament programs, unfortunately, German rockets supplied for Peshmerga to fight Daesh exclusively were used (against Iraqi forces)”, the War Media Cell said, referring to clashes that erupted between the Kurdish forces and Iraqi forces north of Kirkuk.
“The rockets were used against federal troops in Altun Kupri, and have caused damages and sacrifices,” the statement said, but failed to give an exact count of casualties or damages sustained.
Iraqi government forces approached Friday the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, shortly after engaging in clashes with the region’s forces in Qush Taba and Altun Kupri in northern Kirkuk.
Iraqi troops, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on Tuesday, fulfilling instructions made earlier by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government. Abadi has ordered to evacuate all armed groups except for local police forces.
The Iraqi military command said it became in control over all of the province’s oil fields, military bases and government facilities. The military takeover came after Kurdistan voted in September to secede from Iraq.
Some Kurdish officials and media outlets have highlighted the use of “U.S. weapons by the PMF during the the Kirkuk incursion.