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Kirkuk, Iraq,
Apr. 4 (UPI) -- Investment in Iraq's oil-rich city
of Kirkuk is booming as Kurds return to a city they
regard as the crown jewel of their culture.
Construction is booming in the city and across the
wider Kurdistan region, and with oil fields in the
region containing 40 percent of Iraq's reserves,
opportunities are plentiful, the Washington Times
reported Monday.
The multiethnic city of nearly 1 million also is
drawing investment from other parts of Iraq, said
Maj. Darren Blagburn, intelligence officer for the
U.S. Army's 116th Regiment in Kirkuk.
"We're seeing a lot of businesses move to Kirkuk
from Baghdad," he said.
Local security forces comprised mostly of former
members of the Kurdish militia are also more capable
than those in other parts of Iraq.
As a result, the U.S. Army plans within weeks to
make Kirkuk the first city in the former Ba'athist-controlled
areas to complete the transition from foreign to
local protection.
www.washingtontimes.com
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