Iraqi army captures 44 oil wells in disputed areas in Nineveh

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Iraqi security forces on Friday took control of 44 oil wells in disputed areas in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh after the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi military said.

The army's 15th Division took full control of the town of Zummar, some 60 km northwest of Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul, in addition to the nearby 44 oil wells in the oil fields of Ayn Zala and Butma, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement.

Earlier in the day, the Iraqi forces redeployed in the town of Altun Kupri, some 40 km north of Kirkuk, and took full control of the town after clashes in the morning with the Peshmerga forces.

The strategic town of Altun Kupri is located between Kirkuk and the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil.

Kurdish Peshmarga forces are seen near Altun Kupri, between Kirkuk and Erbil, Iraq October 20, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The advance in Nineveh province and Atlun Kupri came a few days after the Iraqi forces recaptured the oil installations, oil fields and pipelines in the oil-rich Kirkuk province and other disputed areas outside the Kurdish autonomous region.

On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, ordered government forces to enter the oil-rich Kirkuk province in northern Iraq to regain control of the ethnically-mixed areas.

Tensions are escalating between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas.

The independence of Kurdistan is opposed not only by the Iraqi central government, but also by other countries as it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and undermine the fight against ISIL militants.

A vehicle of the Iraqi Federal police is seen on a street in Kirkuk, Iraq October 19, 2017. /Reuters Photo‍

Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Iran and Syria, fear that the Iraqi Kurds' pursuit of independence threatens their territorial integrity, as large Kurdish populations live in those countries.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency