DAMASCUS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday stressed the Syrian government's support to the Iraqi army in its operations to restore Kirkuk from the Kurdish forces, according to state news agency SANA.
"The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the efforts exerted by the Iraqi government to restore the central authority to Kirkuk province and all of Iraq," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement comes as the Iraqi forces captured Kirkuk after the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.
The tension between Iraq's central government and the Kurdish forces sparked following a Kurdish referendum on independence three weeks ago.
The voters in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq have overwhelmingly supported secession, amid a regional opposition from Iraq's central government, Syria, and Iran.
In its statement, the ministry said the independence vote "serves the agenda of Israel and diverts the attention from the achievement of the Syrian and Iraqi military forces in their fight against the Islamic State (IS) group."
