KIRKUK, Iraq, April 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.
