Peshmerga withdraw from Bashiqa

Iraqi forces entered Bashiqa, in the northern Mosul city, as the Peshmerga retreated on Tuesday.

The Turkish military has a large presence at the Bashiqa Military Camp.

All oil fields and facilities in Kirkuk province are now under the full control of Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said: “The ministry now holds also oil wells and facilities in Kirkuk.”

Kurdish forces seized control of disputed areas in the provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala and Saladin when the Daesh terrorist group swept through northern Iraq in 2014 and the army collapsed.

On Monday, Iraqi forces seized full control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk amid tension between Baghdad and Erbil over last month’s illegitimate referendum on Kurdish independence.