SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi military has coordination with the Peshmerga forces to fill the gap between them in the disputed territories, said an Iraqi military spokesman.
Yehia Rasool, spokesman for commander-in-chief of the armed forces Mustafa al-Kadhimi, said on Monday that the security forces had launched a number of military operations in areas under the control of the Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
“There is coordination with the Region’s guards” to fill the gap between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, Rasool added, referring to the Peshmerga forces.
Kurdish officials have warned that Islamic State (ISIS) militants are using a “security vacuum” between the Iraqi military and Peshmerga to attack them in the disputed territories.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the activation of coordination centers between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces during a meeting with security and Peshmerga officials.
The meeting came after ISIS militants attacked the Peshmerga near Prde town in south of Erbil on May 1, killing three members of the Kurdish forces and wounding two others.
The Ministry of Peshmerga blamed the “security vacuum” between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces for ISIS attacks against the Peshmerga forces.
To discuss the matter, an Iraqi military delegation is expected to visit the Kurdistan Region next week to work on coordination between the two forces.
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”.
