Iraqi forces seize disputed town after clashes with Kurds
Iraqi troops seized a town from Kurdish forces after a brief but intense firefight on Friday, capping a dramatic week of maneuvers that saw the Kurds hand over territory across northern Iraq.
By evening, the Iraqi forces were in full control of the town of Altun Kupri though Kurdish forces, known as the peshmerga, were still shelling the town.
Altun Kupri is the latest town to be retaken by federal authorities from Kurdish control after Baghdad made clear this week that it was planning to roll back Kurdish forces' gains during their joint war against the Islamic State group and revert the border lines to the 2014 map of Iraq.
Kurdish authorities appeared intent on making the Altun Kupri their symbolic last stand against the more powerful Iraqi army, after the peshmerga withdrew from other so-called disputed areas peacefully earlier in the week.
