Iraqi security forces, Peshmerga launch joint anti-ISIS operation in disputed Makhmour

Mustafa Shilani 2021/11/06 14:05

Iraqi and Kurdistan Region security forces fly their respective flags while on a joint patrol. (Photo: Archive)

Iraq Kurdistan Iraq Disputed Territories ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi military announced on Saturday morning that it had launched a joint military operation with Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces to pursue ISIS remnants in territories disputed by Baghdad and Erbil where the extremist organization has long exploited the lack of a unified security strategy.

"The security units in the Nineveh Operations Command and the Sixth Axis forces of the Peshmerga have embarked on a security operation with air support from the army, the air force, and the international coalition," the Security Media Cell said in an online statement.

It added that the operation aims "to search the areas of the Upper and Lower Kashaf area in disputed Makhmour district and to pursue the remnants of ISIS terrorist gangs in the areas between Peshmerga forces and federal forces."

In recent months, Makhmour has witnessed several insurgent attacks carried out by ISIS militants, including setting up fake security checkpoints, kidnapping civilians and members of the security forces, and attacking some villages located in remote areas.

In response to the ongoing threat of ISIS, Peshmerga forces and Iraqi troops, with air support from the US-led Coalition, have launched several military operations to eliminate sleeper cells hiding in Makhmour and its surroundings.

Following the rise of ISIS in 2014, the Peshmerga held their front-line positions in many disputed territories, including Makhmour. Thousands of Iraqi troops were allowed into Makhmour by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in early 2016 for the offensive on Mosul, which ended in July 2017.

However, security in those regions deteriorated significantly after Iraqi forces and Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) paramilitaries seized Kirkuk and other disputed territories from the Peshmerga in October 2017, a month after the Kurdistan Region's September 2017 independence referendum.

Since then, there have been regular security gaps between the positions held by the Peshmerga stationed near the Qarachukh mountains and the Iraqi Army. In some areas, these gaps are between three to five kilometers wide.