10 things you need to know today: October 16, 2017

Iraq claims it has seized parts of Kurdish-held Kirkuk, firefighters make progress against California wildfires, and more

Iraqi forces arrive in the outskirts of Kirkuk
(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

1. Iraq claims progress in operation to take Kurdish-held Kirkuk

The Iraqi government said early Monday its forces had made progress in a "major operation" to seize Kurdish-held Kirkuk and surrounding oil fields, taking over "vast areas" of the city, including a refinery and a gas plant. The Kurdistan Regional Government denied the claim, saying everything in the region remained under Kurdish control. A KRG official told Reuters that Iraqi troops were not able to get closer to Kirkuk or take away any territory from Kurdish peshmerga fighters, and the biggest battle took place south of Kirkuk, when the peshmerga and a mostly Shi'ite Iraqi paramilitary force exchanged artillery fire. In late September, Iraqi Kurds voted in favor of independence, a referendum Baghdad has called illegal.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.