SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Minister of Peshmerga Shorish Ismail said on Thursday there is a “good understanding” between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military.
Ismail paid a visit to the Peshmerga frontlines in east of Mosul on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, according to the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga ministry.
The minister reaffirmed the ministry’s support to strengthen the military might and logistics of the Peshmerga forces to fight and defeat terrorists.
“All sides should support and assist the Peshmerga forces,” Ismail said, calling for financial, logistical and military support for the Peshmerga forces.
“The understanding with the Iraqi defense ministry is valuable,” he added.
He also hoped to reach a “comprehensive and concrete agreement, that guarantees the security and stability of the region and the complete elimination of terrorists,” the Peshmerga ministry said in a statement.
The minister comments came after Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked the Peshmerga forces in Kifri district in Diyala province late on Tuesday. A member of the Peshmerga forces was killed in the attack.
Recently, ISIS militants have increased attacks against the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed territories, claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
On May 1, the Peshmerga forces thwarted an ISIS attack near Prde town, south of Erbil. Three Peshmerga were killed and two others were wounded in the attack.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani stressed on Wednesday the need to expedite coordination between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed areas, claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
Kurdish officials blame the presence of a “security vaccum” between the Kurdish forces and the Iraqi military for ISIS attacks on the Peshmerga and residents of those areas.
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”.
