wrbones
03-29-03, 08:35 PM
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=DFABF513-0A0C-419A-9EC5F39543823E7E&title=Kurdish%20Fighters%20Approach%20Kirkuk%20as% 20Iraqi%20Army%20Retreats
Kurdish Fighters Approach Kirkuk as Iraqi Army Retreats
VOA News
30 Mar 2003, 00:01 UTC
Iraqi Kurdish fighters are consolidating positions above the strategic northern city of Kirkuk after Iraqi troops pulled further back Saturday.
Reports from the region Kurdish fighters are eight kilometers away from the key oil industry city. But Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani says his fighters will remain in defensive positions and not launch a unilateral attack on the Iraqi troops in Kirkuk.
Coalition aircraft continued bombing Iraqi army positions in the north and hit targets around the city of Mosul Saturday. U.S. forces in the region have been building up their positions in Kurdish-controlled areas to open a second front in the war against Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters say they are also in control of several villages near the Iranian border after fights with the Ansar al-Islam militant group. That group has been linked to both the al-Qaida terror network and the Baghdad government.
The United States says Ansar al-Islam has been working to develop chemical weapons. U.S. warplanes bombed the group's positions earlier this week.
And across the Iraqi border in southeastern Turkey, angry villagers pelted U.S. investigators with eggs and stones Saturday. The American team is in the village to investigate the crash of a cruise missile fired at Iraq, but which landed in Turkey. It was the third errant missile to land in Turkey in less than one week.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
Kurdish Fighters Approach Kirkuk as Iraqi Army Retreats
VOA News
30 Mar 2003, 00:01 UTC
Iraqi Kurdish fighters are consolidating positions above the strategic northern city of Kirkuk after Iraqi troops pulled further back Saturday.
Reports from the region Kurdish fighters are eight kilometers away from the key oil industry city. But Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani says his fighters will remain in defensive positions and not launch a unilateral attack on the Iraqi troops in Kirkuk.
Coalition aircraft continued bombing Iraqi army positions in the north and hit targets around the city of Mosul Saturday. U.S. forces in the region have been building up their positions in Kurdish-controlled areas to open a second front in the war against Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters say they are also in control of several villages near the Iranian border after fights with the Ansar al-Islam militant group. That group has been linked to both the al-Qaida terror network and the Baghdad government.
The United States says Ansar al-Islam has been working to develop chemical weapons. U.S. warplanes bombed the group's positions earlier this week.
And across the Iraqi border in southeastern Turkey, angry villagers pelted U.S. investigators with eggs and stones Saturday. The American team is in the village to investigate the crash of a cruise missile fired at Iraq, but which landed in Turkey. It was the third errant missile to land in Turkey in less than one week.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.