Baghdad, Kurds Agree to Defuse Tension Iraq's top military spokesman says that Iraqi and Kurdish security officials have reached an agreement to defuse tension between the central government and the self-ruled autonomous region over disputed northern areas. Col. Dhia al-Wakeel said Monday that both sides would look for ways to withdraw the reinforcements sent to the disputed region during the recent crisis. He said the coordination committees between rival forces will work to calm the situation in northern Iraq. Tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdish region flared last month after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki formed a new military command to oversee security forces bordering the self-ruled Kurdish region, including units deployed in disputed areas claimed by Iraqi Arabs, Turkomen and Kurds.