Two killed in Kirkuk gun battle

Gunfire erupted as hundreds of protesters marched in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk today and at least two people were reported killed in the oil-rich metropolis.

Police spokesman Salem Taha said two protesters were killed and 16 were wounded in the shooting. A reporter saw six people hit by gunshots, and heard sirens as ambulances rushed to the rescue.

Taha said Kurdish gunmen opened fire as demonstrators opposed to Kirkuk joining a Kurdish federation tried to converge on the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.

But a party official, Jalal Jawher, said armed men who had infiltrated the protest opened fire on the party headquarters, and police officers guarding the building returned fire.

“We did not open fire on the protesters. Not a single shot was fired from our building,” Jawher said. “Everybody is free to express an opinion regarding federalism,” and his party was not opposed to the demonstration, he said.

US soldiers moved in with tanks to barricade the area and set up checkpoints at major intersections.

Hundreds of Arabs and Turkmen began protesting today to demand that Kirkuk remain under a central Iraqi government and not be incorporated into any proposed Kurdish federation.

“Kirkuk is an Iraqi city!” protesters shouted. “Down with federalism.”

The exact division of the population of Kirkuk is not known. It is believed that residents are divided equally among three ethnic groups – Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds.

Some Kurds in Kirkuk have been calling for the city to become part of an autonomous Kurdistan, joining an area of northern Iraq where Kurds have ruled themselves since the end of the Gulf War, more than a decade ago, under US-led aerial protection.