Kirkuk residents take to streets to celebrate Iraqi army’s advances

Kirkuk residents take to streets to celebrate the Iraqi army by waving Iraq’s national flag and removing Kurdish flags from buildings across the northern city.

Kirkuk residents take to streets to celebrate the Iraqi army by waving Iraq’s national flag and removing Kurdish flags from buildings across the northern city.

Iraqi forces seized control of the disputed city of Kirkuk on Monday as Kurdish forces appeared to melt away, escalating a crisis triggered by last month’s independence referendum in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Elite Iraqi counter-terrorism forces moved into the provincial government headquarters in the centre of the oil-rich city, which has been run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since 2014. The Iraqi military said it had taken control of Kirkuk’s airport, while its forces also secured North Oil Company facilities, including the state company’s headquarters.