maimingor mohammed told us that fighting was intense and it's calmer now. i.s.i.l. decided it was not wise to face the peshmerga head on or they knew it would be difficult to hold a city like kirkuk where the majority of the population is kurdish. this is the security line. everything on this side is in control of the pesh merga, and everything on this side in control of the i.s.i.l. this soldier tells us as loppings as i.s.i.l. -- lang as i.s.i.l. staying over there they will not engage them. looking across we can see cars fleeing the i.s.i.l. territory. do you think the peshmerga will defect like the iraqi army do. >> no, the iraqi soldiers didn't fight the i.s.i.l., the pesh merga are an army fighting for a cause. we are ready to defend this land by all means. >> if the iraqi army wants to come back and take kirkuk, would you allow them to do is that? >> this is a political decision, not ours to make. whatever our leaders decide, we will abide by. of course, when they decided to post peshmerga fighters to defend the area, i don't think they'll withdraw us again.