Everything changes for Kurds as they occupy vacuum left by Iraqi forces fleeing jihadists

Poets wrote songs about it for generations. Guerilla fighters, holed up in the mountains, trained for it for decades. But in the end, when a Kurdish army finally took control of Kirkuk, they realised the dream of their forefathers within hours, without having to fire a shot.

The collapse of Baghdad’s control of northern Iraq in the face of an onslaught by Sunni insurgents has allowed Kurds to take the historic capital they regard as their Jerusalem, and put them closer than ever to  an independent state of their own.

After Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized Iraq’s biggest northern city, Mosul, and rampaged towards  Baghdad, Kurdish fighters wasted no time.

They seized full control of Kirkuk – and tracts of land besides. In all, they expanded the territory they control by as much as 40 per cent, without having to fight a single battle.

The new territory includes vast oil deposits the Kurdish people regard as their national birthright and foundation for the prosperity of a future independent homeland.

Kurds plundered bases deserted by the Iraqi army in Kirkuk, making off with everything from guns to air-conditioners, armoured vehicles and mattresses in a frenzy reminiscent of the scenes after the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.

For now, Kurdish officials are still weighing their options for next steps, but they have made clear that the settlement that held Iraq together as a state has been torn up.