ALJAZEERA: Iraqi Kurds seized control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk on Thursday as Sunni insurgents threatened to advance on Baghdad — two developments that further indicate that the central government has now lost large swathsof a country spiraling deeper into chaos and internecine violence.
Kurds have long dreamed of taking Kirkuk, a city with huge oil reserves just outside their autonomous region, which they regard as their historical capital. The swift move by their highly organized security forces demonstrates how this week’s sudden advance by the armed group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has redrawn Iraq’s map.
The ongoing instability prompted talk of international action Thursday, with Iran raising the specter of involvement in its neighbor’s affairs and reports that authorities in Baghdad had earlier asked the U.S. to consider airstrikes to support their push against ISIL… (more)
