Fights between Iraqi troops and Kurds

baghdad - In northern Iraq heavy fights have broken out between Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga. Government-led Shiite militia showed Friday that they had taken the place of Altin Köprü in the county of Kirkuk. That could not be confirmed for the time being.

Kurdish media reported that the Iraqi army and Shiite militia had attacked the peshmerga. The Kurds would have destroyed two Iraqi armored vehicles with anti-tank missiles that they had received from Germany for the struggle against Islamic state.

The Iraqi government was fighting against the Kurds after the Kurds in their autonomous region had held a referendum on independence. In the vicinity of Kirkuk, which is part of this region, major oil fields lie.