Kurdish Peshmerga forces have declared a three-day unilateral ceasefire south of Kirkuk after a demand by Arab tribal chiefs in the area. Peshmerga military officials in the town of Daquq told Rudaw that Arab tribes had asked for the ceasefire – that started Saturday evening — to give them a chance to try and persuade Islamic State (IS/ISIS) militants to leave the area. The tribes fear that a resumption of fighting between the Peshmerga and IS would cut off the Kirkuk-Tuz Khurmatu highway and affect many ethnically-mixed villages that lie in the frontlines. Meanwhile, Kurdish commanders said they fear that the Islamic militants might use the truce to regroup and bring in reinforcements from elsewhere. Until now the Sunni militants, who have declared an Islamic State straddling large parts of Iraq and portions of Syria, had locked in sporadic clashes with […]