Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi military forces have exchanged artillery fire south of Kirkuk, a major city both claim to have authority over. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the military to secure bases and federal installations in the city earlier on Sunday.

The autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq held an independence referendum pn Sept 25 that resulted in a positive result for seperation from the central government in Baghdad.

AKurdish official as been reported as saying the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict is not appearring to be just a “small skirmish”, but like a “war”.

More details to follow.