July 30, 2007

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, July 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi Kurdistan security forces will be sent to neighboring provinces to protect key power towers once Iraq's prime minister gives the green light.

Jabbar Yawir, undersecretary of ministry in charge of the forces, called Peshmerga, told the Voices of Iraq news agency 12,000 peshmerga fighters are ready to be deployed.

"We're waiting for the approval of the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki," Yawir said. "We are in agreement with the central government in Baghdad to send 6,000 troops to protect power facilities on the Taza-Baiji highway."

He also said the Iraqi Ministry of Defense asked the Kurdistan Regional Government to deploy Peshmerga fighters to protect an oil pipeline that leads from south of Mosul to the port in Ceyhan, Turkey.

The Peshmerga forces were formed when Kurds fought the forces of Saddam Hussein and were the de facto regional army since 1992 when Iraqi Kurdistan gained semi-autonomy.

Both oil and electricity facilities are regular targets of insurgents in the north. The oil pipeline has been bombed so much it is virtually useless, stifling potential oil production from the north.

Currently, Iraq produces just less than 2 million barrels per day, most from oil fields in the south.

Peshmerga will also be deployed in the oil-rich and restive Kirkuk province. It's become more of a hotbed for violence as a planned vote draws near. The controversial referendum will allow voters in the heavily Kurdish but ethnically and religiously mixed territory to decide whether to become part of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Attacks on electricity are one of many factors leading to regular blackouts and reliable electricity shortages throughout the entire country.