“Two Kurdish youths with two Dodge Challenger cars, who had raised the American flag and were driving around a street in Kirkuk, were arrested by order of the Kirkuk investigative judge,” Kirkuk police spokesperson Amer Nuri told Rudaw on Friday.
Identified as Yousif Jabar and Dana Dara, they were set to appear in court on Sunday before the hearing was postponed to Tuesday, a family member told Rudaw, on the condition of anonymity.
Kirkuk police said that they were arrested according to Article 240 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
The article states that anyone who violates administrative orders shall be “punished” with imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or by a fine not exceeding 100,000 dinars.
Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city home to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and an Assyrian-Chaldean minority. The city was under joint administration before 2014, when Kurds took full control after Iraqi forces withdrew in the face of a brazen offensive by the Islamic State (ISIS).
Kurds held Kirkuk until October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces retook control and expelled Kurdish security forces following the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) independence referendum.
Since then, a myriad of armed groups hostile to the US and backed by Iran have asserted influence over the disputed city.
