Iraqi security forces have launched a "major operation" in the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk to take control of a strategic military base and oil fields, according to Kurdish and Iraqi officials.WTI and Brent futures are up around 1%.
The aim of the advance early on Monday was taking control of the Kurdish-controlled K1 airbase, west of Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani, of the Iraqi army's 9th armoured division, told Reuters news agency.
Iraqi forces took control of "vast areas" in the oil-rich region without any opposition from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, state TV said, wihtout offering further details.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council had earlier said that Iraqi forces and members of the Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF) - paramilitary units largely made up of Iran-trained Shia militias - were advancing from Taza, south of Kirkuk, in a "major operation".
"Their intention is to enter the city and take over (the) K1 base and oil fields," it said in a post on Twitter....MORE
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