Iraqi and Kurdish forces clash as Baghdad advance continues
Fighting risks escalating crisis that pits two of US’s main regional allies against each other
Kurdish peshmarga near Altun Kupri, between Kirkuk and Erbil, Iraq on Friday. The area is considered part of the “disputed territories” claimed by both Kurds and Baghdad. Photograph: Azad Lashkari/Reuters
Iraqi forces clashed with Kurdish peshmerga on Friday south of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, as they completed their takeover of the disputed, oil-rich Kirkuk province.