In run-up to region poll, Iraq moves to secure Kirkuk

A senior Iraqi military commander arrived in Kirkuk on Monday amid preparations for fresh anti-Daesh operations in the disputed oil-rich province, according to a local police source.

The arrival of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes, deputy commander of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, also comes one week before a planned referendum -- in which Kirkuk is expected to take part -- on Kurdish regional independence.

A largely (but not exclusively) Shia fighting force, the Hashd al-Shaabi was incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces last year. In recent months, it has fought alongside the Iraqi army in a number of major anti-Daesh operations.

“Along with several other military commanders, al-Muhandes arrived in Kirkuk today at the head of a large security force,” Police First Lieutenant Khaled al-Numaan told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Numaan added that the Hashd al-Shaabi commander had been accompanied into Kirkuk by scores of military vehicles.

For the past two weeks, Iraqi forces have been gearing up for fresh operations aimed at purging Kirkuk’s Hawija district of Daesh terrorists.

Al-Muhandes’s arrival in Kirkuk comes amid mounting tension between Baghdad and Erbil (the Kurdish Regional Government’s administrative capital) over the upcoming poll on Kurdish regional independence.

Slated for Sept. 25, the non-binding referendum will see residents of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region vote on whether or not to declare full independence from Iraq.

According to a recent decision by Kirkuk’s provincial council, residents of the disputed province will also take part in the referendum.

Baghdad, however, firmly rejects the planned poll, saying it will adversely affect the fight against Daesh, which -- despite a string of recent defeats -- still maintains a significant presence in northern Iraq.

Earlier Monday, Iraq’s Supreme Court ruled to suspend all activities related to the referendum until it could determine whether the poll would violate Iraq’s 2005 constitution.

Turkey also opposes the planned referendum, insisting that the region’s stability depends on the maintenance of Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity.

Washington, too, has voiced reservations about the regional poll and has repeatedly urged Erbil to postpone it.

Iran, for its part, has vowed to seal its border with northern Iraq’s Kurdish region in the event that it formally declares independence.