Baghdad said Sunday that PKK fighters were among Kurdish forces in a standoff with its army in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk, in what it said amounted to a "declaration of war".

The National Security Council headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said it viewed as a "dangerous escalation" and a "declaration of war" the presence of "fighters not belonging to the regular security forces in Kirkuk" including fighters from Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.