SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S.-led Coalition forces said on Thursday continued Islamic State (ISIS) attacks stress the importance of joint forces between Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
“Daesh attacks in the disputed areas continue to emphasizing the importance of the joint force brigades,” Deputy Director MAG-North Col. Todd Burroughs said in a tweet.
Islamic State (ISIS) militants carried out two attacks against the Peshmerga forces near Prde, or Altun Kupri in Arabic, in south of Erbil this week, killing two Peshmerga.
Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday that the ISIS attack reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Iraqi military and the Kurdish forces have been working to form two joint brigades to protect the disputed territories from ISIS attacks.
Burroughs confirmed in the tweet that Peshmerga forces and Iraqi security forces were working “diligently to form and train these brigades” to defeat ISIS.
In an official document signed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the premier authorized the registration of the 20th Brigade of the Peshmerga forces within the structure of the Iraqi defense ministry so as to form joint forces for the disputed areas.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly warned that ISIS militants are using a “security vacuum” between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to carry out attacks in the disputed territories.
To fill the gaps, the Iraqi military and Peshmerga forces established four joint operation rooms in Khanaqin, Makhmour, Kirkuk and Mosul to exchange information and launch joint operations against the militants.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 but the militants have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range which extends into the northern provinces – an area described by officials as a “triangle of death”.
