Peshmerga casualties in Kirkuk turmoil at 246: medics

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) The number of Kurdish Peshmerga personnel killed and wounded during Iraqi troops’ takeover of Kirkuk province has stood at 246, a medical source said.

The turmoil in the oil-rich, disputed province left 85 Peshmerga fighters dead and 162 wounded, said the head of Peshmerga’s Shorish Hospital in Sulaymaniyah, Dr. Shamal Jabbar Yawar, in statements quoted by Alghad Press.

Aliraq.net quoted Yawar saying that 90% of injuries were caused by heavy weapons, some in critical conditions.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said late Tuesday its forces “completed security enforcement duties in what is left of Kirkuk” in addition to Kurdish-held regions in Nineveh and Diyala.

Iraqi forces seized Kirkuk’s main oil fields, military bases, airports and government facilities as part of an operation that launched late Sunday. Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for independence from Iraq in September, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops.

Statements by Iraqi and Kurdish commanders have suggested that Peshmerga cleared their locations as Iraqi forces advanced, with most of the regions retaken without fighting.

Baghdad has reiterated it would never recognize the result of the independence referendum, while Erbil insisted it should be the basis of future negotiations on disputed issues.