Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which has long sought to incorporate oil-rich Kirkuk into its territories it considers as Kurdish, is offering to allocate part of the proceeds from its independent oil sales, which include oil produced in Kirkuk, to the province. The move would make the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk reliant on Erbil rather than on Baghdad for revenues, deepening the already widening rift between the KRG and the federal government.
But first, the Kurdish Peshmerga will have to defend its newly acquired property in parts of Kirkuk from persistent attacks by Islamic State (IS), which is intent on thwarting Kurdish efforts by targeting Kurdish targets in the Kirkuk area. (CONTINUED - 2282 WORDS)
