Iraqi government denies KRG's claims of clashes near Turkey border

Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) authorities accused Iraqi forces of launching an attack on Tuesday towards the Turkish border, where a section of the KRG oil export pipeline is located.

An Iraqi military spokesperson denied clashes happened in the region of Rabia, 40 km (25 miles) south of the Fish-Khabur border area held by KRG's Peshmerga forces.

"Peshmerga repelled the attack and pushed Popular Mobilization back into Rabia," tweeted KRG President Masoud Barzani's media adviser, Hemin Hawrami.

A military spokesperson in Baghdad said in response, "There are no clashes."

On Monday an official of the KRG's security council said Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Hash al Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) were deploying tanks and artillery in Rabia, north west of Mosul.

An Iraqi government security adviser said on Monday the Fish-Khabur area was the location of crossings into Turkey and Syria that Baghdad wanted to bring under its control.

He declined to say if a military move was being prepared.

The pipeline that carries crude oil across the KRG region connects to a metering station in Fish-Khabur before feeding another pipeline that takes it to the Turkish Mediterranean coast for exports.

Turkey and Iran have both supported measures taken by the Iraqi government to isolate the KRG after it held a referendum on independence on September 25 and to bring the KRG region's oil exports and land crossings under Baghdad's authority.

The Fish-Khabur crossing has been under KRG control since 1991, when the United States and western powers imposed a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect the Kurdish population from Saddam Hussein's army.