"The situation is under control. Overnight was much calmer," than the previous one when the city descended into chaos and looting, Rostam said.

He added that US forces in the major oil city were "more than sufficient" to assure its security, although there were few signs of their presence.

The US troops had set up checkpoints in Kirkuk overnight, but had disappeared by the morning, and Rostam acknowledged that he did not know exactly where they were.

Nonetheless, he said "everyone is pulling out. A few peshmergas (Kurdish fighters) will remain to help the Americans," he added.

The arrival of US reinforcements had been slated for Friday, but Rostam could not say whether they had arrived.

Kirkuk was seized by Kurdish fighters backed by US special forces almost unopposed on Thursday. Hundreds of Kurdish policemen later arrived to try to restore order when the situation began spinning out of control.

Turkey, which has a sizeable and restive Kurdish minority, has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily in northern Iraq if Kurdish forces seized Kirkuk and nearby Mosul, which control access to major oilfields in the area.

SPACE.WIRE