Iraq denied Saturday that it had amassed troops in the Kurdish region or shelled Kurdish positions as claimed by an alliance of opposition groups.
State-run Iraqi radio, monitored in Cyprus, quoted a military source in Baghdad as saying any fighting is between Kurds for control of their autonomous enclave in northern Iraq."No military concentrations whatsoever have taken place in that area and not a single shell was fired," the unidentified source said.
The Iraqi National Congress, an alliance of Kurdish, Shiite Muslim and other Iraqi opposition groups, says fighting has raged for four days on the edge of the enclave.
In its latest report Saturday, the alliance said the Iraqi army repeatedly shelled the Kurdish capital of Irbil on Friday night.
The shelling was reportedly concentrated on a mainly Christian district that is the base for several international aid organizations. The shelling caused civilian casualties, the report said, but gave no figures.