{"id":11040,"date":"2017-10-19T17:03:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T17:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/19\/iraqi-court-issues-arrest-warrant-for-kurdish-vice-president\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:01:00","slug":"iraqi-court-issues-arrest-warrant-for-kurdish-vice-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/19\/iraqi-court-issues-arrest-warrant-for-kurdish-vice-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi court issues arrest warrant for Kurdish vice president"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BAGHDAD \u2014 A Baghdad court issued an arrest warrant for the vice president of Iraq\u2019s autonomous northern Kurdish region on Thursday for saying that Iraqi forces had \u201coccupied\u201d the disputed province of Kirkuk this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the warrant against Kosrat Rasul is unlikely to be executed, as the central government in Baghdad has no enforceable authority in the Kurdish-administered north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court accused Rasul of \u201cinsulting\u201d Iraq\u2019s armed forces, which is forbidden by Iraqi law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, Iraq\u2019s federal forces, supported by Iranian-sponsored militias, rolled into the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Kurdish forces, which had seized the area when the Iraqi army melted away during the Islamic State group\u2019s rampage across the country\u2019s northwest in 2014, withdrew after brief clashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, spokesman for Iraq\u2019s armed forces, said the military would redeploy to all areas it controlled before the rise of ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kurds have already withdrawn from most areas in northern and eastern Iraq that they took during the war against the jihadis. In the battle against ISIS, the Kurdish forces, known as the peshmerga, fought on the same side as the Iraqi military and its allies, mainly a coalition of predominantly Shiite militias. In addition, both the Kurds and Iraq\u2019s central government are military allies of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, tensions ran high along the main road between the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil, and Kirkuk. Kurdish forces on Wednesday took up positions about 5 kilometers (3 miles) beyond their initial lines, regrouping to defend the town of Altun Kupri. Iraqi forces established their own positions about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altun Kupri likes just outside the boundary of the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous zone. Kurdish forces moved in to the town in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pullout this week from the city of Kirkuk and other towns and villages they held is likely to deprive the Kurdish regional government of a substantial revenue stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\t