Kurdish arms imports signal Iraq trouble

BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Concerns about a possible conflict between Baghdad and Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region are rising with the delivery of weapons to the Kurds, sources say.

Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported Sunday that Kurdish officials took delivery this fall of three planeloads of small arms and ammunition imported from Bulgaria, arriving in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah. Such weapons imports are considered illegal by Iraqi officials.

As key regional elections approach and tensions flair over the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, the arms move signals a growing willingness by the Kurds to assert their independence, analysts told the Post, noting the Kurdish militia -- the pesh merga -- has come close to clashing with Iraqi troops several times.

"You could easily have a huge eruption of violence in the north," Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East specialist at the Congressional Research Service, told the Post. "Nothing having to do with the Kurds is resolved."

"There is a lot of tension," added Kurdish parliament member Mahmoud Othman. "(Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki and his administration are accusing the Kurdish authorities of violating the constitution. And the Kurds are accusing Maliki of violating the constitution."