Kurdish authorities say Iraqi army is shelling Kurd forces with artillery

Ahmed Jadallah | Reuters

Kurdish Peshmerga military vehicles are seen during a battle with Islamic State militants at Jarbuah village near Bashiqa near Mosul, Iraq October 28, 2016.

Kurdish authorities said the Iraqi army is shelling Kurd forces with artillery, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council said the Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias were hitting the peshmerga positions from an area northwest of Mosul. Peshmerga is Kurdish militia.

Energy investors have watched the unfolding situation in Kurdish-controlled territory closely this month, as the Iraqi government has moved troops into oil-rich territory that the Kurdish peshmerga liberated from the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS.

The Kurds have sought their own state for a century, but they are currently spread across four countries in the Middle East: Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria.

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

—Reuters contributed to this report.