Iraqi government forces moved into the premises of the state-owned North Oil Company in the northwest of Kirkuk, after recapturing a nearby K1 airbase, reportedly without engaging in combat with Kurdish forces, Monday. <br /> <br />State TV reported on Monday that Iraqi forces had taken control of some Kurdish areas, including oil fields, but this has been denied by Kurdish forces. <br /> <br />Tensions between the two sides have been brewing since Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted for secession in a September 25 referendum that Baghdad rejected as illegal. <br /> <br />Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of oil-rich Kirkuk after the Iraqi army fled a major offensive by the Islamic State in 2014.
