BBC reports Kirkuk's fall to Kurdish forces

LONDON (AFP) Apr 10, 2003
US-backed Kurdish forces have captured the northern Iraqi oil capital of Kirkuk, the BBC reported on Thursday, quoting one of its correspondents.

"It seems like Kirkuk has fallen," said the correspondent, Dumeeth Luthra, though the BBC added on its teletext service that US military spokesmen could not confirm the report.

Earlier Thursday, a senior Kurdish commander told AFP that Kurdish forces pushing towards Kirkuk had seized the towns of Makhmur and Altun Kubri, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Kirkuk.

SPACE.WIRE