KRG Taking Over More Oil Fields

Sometimes, you get lucky.  You write something and a couple of days later you get confirmation.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has just announced that they have taken over the production facilities in Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oil fields.

The two oil fields are said to have a combined daily output capacity of some 400,000 barrels per day, AFP quotes a ministry spokesman as saying.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Maliki claimed that KRG was a safe haven for ISIS fighters. This remark earned him a sharp rebuke from Masoud Barzani and the withdrawal of Kurdish MPs from government.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, who is himself a Kurdish politician, told Reuters news agency on Friday that the Kurdish political bloc had suspended all day-to-day government business after Mr Maliki's remarks. 

He said the country risked division if an inclusive government was not formed soon, adding: "The country is now divided literally into three states - Kurdish, a black state [Isis] and Baghdad."

In other words, the partitioning of Iraq that was launched by ISIS is now underway.

And the Kurds are solidifying their grip on Kirkuk and neighboring oil fields.