60 Peshmerga killed since mid-October: KRG official

Sixty Peshmerga fighters were killed and 150 injured in clashes with pro-government Hashd al-Shaabi militia since Oct. 16, a senior official at the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)'s Ministry for Peshmerga Affairs said Sunday.

In his remarks at a press meeting in Erbil, Lieutenant-General Jabbar Yawar said Erbil and Baghdad reached no agreements about handing over the border crossings between Erbil and Baghdad and Peshmerga's withdrawal from disputed areas.

Jawar said KRG never sought a war, on the contrary, supported dialogue.

"We believe that the problems should be resolved with negotiations. KRG government always reiterated that the disputes can only be resolved through dialogue," he said.

More conflicts would deepen the problems, Jawar added.

In mid-October, Iraqi forces wrested control of the oil-rich Kirkuk from Kurdish Peshmerga forces, one month after northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) held a controversial referendum on the regional independence.

On Sept. 25, Iraqis in KRG-held areas -- and in a number of disputed districts -- voted on whether to declare regional independence from the Iraqi state.

According to results announced by the KRG, nearly 93 percent of registered voters cast ballots in favor of independence.

The illegitimate referendum was heavily criticized by most regional and international actors, with many warning it would distract from Iraq's ongoing fight against terrorism and further destabilize the region.

The deployments led to limited clashes between Iraqi troops and Peshmerga forces, with a handful of casualties reported on both sides.