SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said on Sunday Peshmerga forces, Iraq military and U.S-led Coalition forces should further coordinate to eliminate Islamic State (ISIS) threats.
A group of ISIS militants attacked a point of the Peshmerga forces in Kulajo district in Diyala province late on Saturday.
Five Peshmerga were killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) hit a military vehicle of the Kurdish forces who went to support the forces ISIS attacked.
“These attacks prove that the threat of this terrorist group still remains. Therefore, the related institutions in the Peshmerga ministry, Iraqi military and Coalition forces should increase coordination to eliminate that threat and the infiltration of ISIS militants,” the deputy premier said in a statement.
Talabani stressed that work is needed to eradicate “terrorist ideology”.
ISIS militants have increased attacks against Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Earlier this month, the militants carried out two attacks against the Peshmerga forces in the disputed areas.
On October 31, two members of the Peshmerga forces were killed in another ISIS attack near Prde, south of Erbil.
The Peshmerga ministry said the militants continued to use a security gap between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to attack the Peshmerga.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a separate statement that the militants had taken advantage of the security gap between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces to carry out attacks.
“They have become a serious threat on the security and the area’s residents,” Barzani stated.
He called for the reactivation of joint security centers between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in coordination with the Coalition forces to fill the gap in the disputed territories.
Earlier on Sunday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said ISIS attacks were a “serious and dangerous message”, calling for coordination and cooperation between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military.
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”.
