SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A security delegation led by the deputy commander of Iraq’s joint operations command (JOC) arrived in Kirkuk on Sunday to hold talks with Peshmerga forces, the official Iraqi news agency (INA) reported.
Lieutenant General Abdulamir Al-Shammari was accompanied by the commander of ground forces and the commander of federal police, according to INA.
Shammari will discuss “a number of files with the Peshmerga forces,” INA reporter said.
The Iraqi military and the Peshmerga forces have been working to form two joint brigades to protect the disputed territories from Islamic State (ISIS) attacks, including Kirkuk.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly warned that ISIS militants are using a “security vacuum” between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to carry out attacks in those areas.
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”.
