US Government Calls for Calm after Iraqi Forces seize Kirkuk from Kurdish Control

The US State Department spokeswoman HEATHER NAUERT advised all parties to avoid further escalation of the crisis in Kirkuk.
The invasion Kirkuk by Iraqi soldiers comes three weeks after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum.
Residents of Kurdish-controlled areas, including Kirkuk, overwhelmingly backed secession from Iraq in a vote on 25th September.
Iraqi Prime Minister HAIDER AL-ABADI denounced the vote as unconstitutional, but the Kurdistan Regional Government insisted it was legitimate.
The government forces are now aiming to retake areas under Kurdish control since Islamic State militants swept through the region.
Meanwhile; Senator JOHN MCCAIN, who heads the US Senate Armed Services Committee, has warned the Iraqi government of severe consequences against misused of US-supplied weaponry in operations against Kurdish forces.