Clashes between Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters broke out Friday as Iraqi units moved north of Kirkuk to the town of Altun Kupri.
Fighting began when Iraqi troops and Shia militias entered Altun Kupri in an operation “to impose law and order,” according to the Iraqi military.
Clashes were still ongoing in the northern part of the town. Altun Kupri — a multi-ethnic town made up of Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs — is located about 20 miles north of Kirkuk.
Iraqi army units control the Batma and Ein-Zala oil fields and a total of 44 oil wells, Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement. The army also controls the Zammar and Ayn Zala districts in the northwest Ninawa province, the statement said.