Kurdistan Region PM meets with representatives of anti-ISIS Coalition

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani affirmed the necessity for international forces to continue to work closely with both Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military to counter Islamic State militants after a meeting on Tuesday in Erbil with a delegation from the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani affirmed the necessity for international forces to continue to work closely with both Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military to counter Islamic State militants after a meeting on Tuesday in Erbil with a delegation from the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

The delegates were led by Major General Kevin M. Copsey, the British Deputy Commander-Stability of the CJTF-OIR, read a statement released by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

"ISIS terrorists still pose an ongoing and serious threat to the people of many areas in Iraq," said Barzani, stressing "the importance of continuing coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army to put an end to the threat of terrorism."

Though the territorial collapse of the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria has transformed the group's methods, the threat posed by it, as military commanders have consistently warned, remains palpable. This is especially true in the countryside, where defense forces have difficulty monitoring the group’s activities.

The terrorist organization is thought to maintain a network of hideouts and tunnels close to areas it once controlled following its rise to prominence in 2014. Among these are multiple areas disputed by the central Iraqi government and the KRG.

Under a joint coordination plan in disputed territories, Iraqi and Peshmerga forces together had provided security for years much more effectively than Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have proven to be capable of, ever since they attacked Peshmerga and pushed them from the areas as part of Baghdad's hostile response to the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum. 

Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Barzani received former Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey, now Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, where he “stressed the need to continue security coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army, specifically in the disputed areas between both sides to counter ISIS threats”

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Copsey's visit to Erbil follows the extended one last week of US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller, during which he pledged an additional $250 million in American security assistance for the Peshmerga.

Read MoreUS pledges nearly $250 million in military equipment to Kurdistan Region

The assistance includes military vehicles, communications equipment, and training.

"Peshmerga forces need the continued support and coordination of the international coalition, especially the United States of America," said Peshmerga Minister Shorsh Ismail during a joint press conference with Tueller.

Editing by John J. Catherine