Residents of Kirkuk wave the Kurdish flag on top of a pedestal where a statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) used to stand as they celebrate the ousting of government forces from Kirkuk, Iraq (news - web sites) April 10, 2003. Under pressure from Turkey, the U.S. said on Thursday American forces would be in control of oil-rich Iraqi city and agreed to Ankara sending military observers. Turkish officials had sought U.S. reassurance that Kurdish 'peshmerga' fighters who have taken over Kirkuk would not be allowed to establish a new state because of fears it could spark rebellion in Turkey's own mainly Kurdish southeast. Photo by Caren Firouz/Reuters