According to Abdallah, many residents left their homes, fearing persecution by the Shia-dominated militia coalition Hashd al-Shaabi "for the participation of the Kurdish people in the referendum on independence."

In turn, Arab and Turkoman residents welcomed Iraqi forces with the national flags of Iraq, having arranged merry festivities on the streets of the city, the source said.

"The Kurds will counterattack, at the moment the troops are put on standby in order to retake regions seized by the Iraqi forces," Babakr said.

The Kurdish official explained that the advance of Iraqi forces in Kirkuk was made possible after the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which controlled 80 percent of the Kirkuk province and the Iraqi town of Tuz Khurmatu, had signed an agreement with Iraqi Shiite militia Hashd Shaabi and handed the control over disputed areas to the Iraqi forces.

"The fast advance and progress of the Shiite troops occurred mostly due to treason among Peshmerga forces," he said.

Babakr stressed that latest developments would not force the province's authorities to annul the referendum results, on the contrary, it would enhance the region's attempts to gain independence from Iraq.

"If your name from was from a known tribe, you paid almost nothing," a Kurdish shop owner revealed to Al-Sura News.

"If it was Christian, you might as well close your shop," the owner continued to explain.

US national security advisers have attempted on several occasions to formulate a comprehensive strategy for Syria, but have not submitted any recommendations to the US president so far, the NBC broadcaster reported, citing US officials.

According to the news outlet, there are disagreements among the members of Trump's administration on political transition in Syria, in particular, on the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Certain administration members, including US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, advocate the plan stipulating Assad's resignation, while others see Assad as the factor that prevented the situation in war-torn Syria from falling into chaos.

Washington has stated on numerous occasions that it does not see Assad as a leader of post-war Syria. The United States, in particular, has proposed a plan providing for the elaboration of new a Syrian constitution and holding presidential elections under international observation after the country's liberation from terrorist groups.

However, the U.S. military said that it could only confirm that almost 90 percent of Raqqa had been retaken from IS.

Colonel Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said pockets of Islamic State militants remain in Raqqa.

"Our partners have removed ISIS from 87 percent of territory they once held and liberated over 6.5 million people," Dillon said on social media, using another acronym for IS.

"Our policy is clear: those who try to harm us we will hit them. Today our planes were under attack, it is unacceptable," Netanyahu stated.

"The (Israeli) air force acted immediately and precisely, and successfully destroyed the target. Israel will continue to operate in this space, as much as needed in order to protect Israel," he concluded.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense's claim contrasted that of the Israel Defense Forces' Spokesperson, who alleged that the warplane never crossed into Syrian territory.

While Israel claims they did not cross into Syrian airspace, it would be out of the ordinary for the Syrian Air Defense forces to fire an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli warplane flying over Lebanon.

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