SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and a high-level U.S. delegation agreed on Sunday on the need to set up joint coordination centers between the Iraqi military and Peshmerga forces.
Barzani met with the U.S. delegation including Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs Aimee Cutrona, and Director for Iraq and Syria at the National Security Council Zehra Bell.
The Kurdish and U.S. officials agreed on the need to “establish Joint Cooperation Centers between the Peshmerga and Iraqi Security Forces,” the KRG said in a statement.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly called for establishing joint coordination centers between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to prevent further attacks against the Peshmerga and residents of disputed territories.
In a separate meeting with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, both sides underlined the importance of cooperation and coordination between the Iraqi and Peshmerga forces, according to the Region’s presidency.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has ordered the implementation of security agreements previously reached between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, according to Jabar Yawar, Secretary General of the Peshmerga Ministry.
Yawar said the Iraqi military and the Peshmerga had previously reached an agreement to establish joint coordination centers for the regions of Khanaqin, Kirkuk, Mosul and Makhmour.
“The best solution for the stability of the disputed areas lies in the continuation of joint coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military to maintain security in those areas,” he noted.
Efforts to establish coordination centers came after Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked the Peshmerga forces near Prde town south of Erbil and in Kifri district in Diyala province this month.
Four members of the Peshmerga forces were killed and three others wounded in the attacks, according to Peshmerga officials,
Recently, ISIS militants have increased attacks against the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed territories, claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
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”.
