SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq’s joint operations command said there is a “high” security coordination between the Iraqi military and Peshmerga forces in the disputed areas.
Spokesman Tahsin al-Khafaji said the formation of joint rooms with the Kurdistan Region had helped the establishment of two joint brigades to fill security gaps in the disputed areas.
“The joint rooms also helped exchange information and have communication in support of cooperation against terrorist groups,” state news agency INA cited Khafaji as saying on Saturday.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly warned that Islamic State (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.
The Iraqi military and the Peshmerga are also working to form two joint brigades to protect the disputed territories from ISIS militants, who continue to attack civilians and Iraqi forces in those areas.
Dozens of civilians and Iraqi forces have been killed and wounded in ISIS attacks in Kirkuk and Diyala provinces in the past months.
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”.
