The speed with which Iraqi troops this week overwhelmed Kurdish forces in oil-rich Kirkuk, days after ousting the Islamic State group, marks a radical change in the balance of power, analysts say. For 14 years since the US-led invasion, the Kurds had taken advantage of the weakness of the federal army to slowly chip away at territory they had long claimed outside their autonomous region in northern Iraq. The Kurds' precipitous withdrawal from thousands of square kilometres (miles) of cherished territory highlighted the newfound prowess of the Iraqi army -- rearmed, retrained and battle-hardened during three years of fighting against the Islamic State (IS) group.
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