Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched major military operations against remaining al-Qaida and Shiite militants in Diyala province recently. Tensions between Iraqi national forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga deployed in the area nearly erupted in violence over the city of Khanaqin, and on Saturday Iraqi police killed Riya Qahtan with the Kurdistan Democratic Party in nearby Jalawla.

Kurdish officials, the Inter Press Service says, see the conflict as a battle for power, believing moving their forces further north would allow the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government to encroach on the oil-rich region of northern Diyala, which has a large Kurdish population.

"The current problem is over borders, because (Baghdad) believes the borders of Kurdistan should be where the former ousted regime were," said Kurdish President Massoud Barzani.

Meanwhile, Homam al-Hamudi, a Shiite lawmaker on the Foreign Relations Committee in Parliament, cautioned the Peshmerga from moving too far beyond the recognized boundaries of Iraqi Kurdistan.

A Pentagon report released Tuesday says the number of casualties in Iraq is at an all-time low, but simmering tensions between rival factions in Iraq may indicate the gains are temporary.