KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: A force comprises of six helicopters and a convoy of armored vehicles arrived in a base belongs to the Tigris Operations Command in southwestern Kirkuk, a source from the 12th division of the Iraqi army said on Monday.

 

"Another convoy of 40 Hummers, 11 armored vehicles arrived in al-Debaa base, an old military base, in al-Rashad district early today coming from Salah al-Din," the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, without giving more details.

 

Tensions between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq have been running high after the establishment of a new military command covering disputed territory, and over various other long-running disputes.

 

The establishment of the command, based in Kirkuk city and covering all of the province of the same name as well as neighboring Salah al-Din and Diala, has drawn an angry response from Kurdish leaders who want to incorporate much of the area into their autonomous region.

 

The dispute over the command strikes at the heart of an unresolved row between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Arbil over territory, oil and the interpretation of Iraq's federal constitution.

 

 

SH (TI)/SR