In less than six months, the nearly 46,000 US troops still deployed in Iraq will leave the country.

But for Iraq's Kurds, the scheduled withdrawal is a big concern, as they try to resolve disputes over territory.

An entire US division is deployed in and around the disputed area to keep security and as a buffer between Iraqi army forces and Kurdish fighters who police the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Although the two sides publically deny the threat of any future dispute and emphasis their joint co-operation, there is a serious risk of a possible return to a bloody conflict.

Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh reports from the Kurdish region of Iraq.