HOW TO DEFEAT IRAN |
Kurdish peshmerga forces blocked roads from Iraqi Kurdistan to the country's second city Mosul today in response to Iraqi troop movements, the AFP reports. The move comes after the Kurdistan Regional Government's Security Council said Wednesday that the Iraqi army, backed by Shiite militias and federal police, is preparing to attack the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other parts of Iraqi Kurdistan following last month's independence referendum. Kurdish forces have started building berms between their region and the city of Mosul, where a large number of Iraqi joint forces are positioned. The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, however, has denied that Baghdad has a plan to attack the Kurdistan region. Adding to the tensions, the Iraqi Judicial Council announced Wednesday that arrest warrants have been issued against the members of the Kurdish commission that organized the independence referendum.