A member of the Iraqi forces sits near a bridge across from Kurdish peshmerga positions on October 14, 2017, on the southern outskirts of Kirkuk.
Thousands of Iraqi troops were locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish forces in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk as Washington scrambled to avert fighting between the key allies in the war against the Islamic State group. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)
