US denounces recent ISIS attacks that have killed Peshmerga, civilians
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WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – The US issued a statement on Friday, denouncing two ISIS attacks the day before in Makhmour, a disputed area in the north of Iraq.
Thursday’s attacks came amid escalating ISIS assaults. Over the course of three days last week, eight Peshmerga were killed in the Kifri area of Diyala Province, which also lies in the disputed territories.
Another 10 Peshmerga were killed on Thursday, along with three civilians.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the continued escalation of ISIS attacks throughout Iraq, including the attack yesterday in Makhmour district,” Ned Price, State Department Spokesperson, said.
“We offer our condolences to the families of those killed and injured in these attacks,” he continued.
“The United States reaffirms our commitment to supporting the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga, as they continue the fight against ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat,” Price affirmed.
Earlier on Friday, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, called for an immediate strengthening of security coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Army in order to block ISIS’ resurgence in the disputed areas.
Similarly, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) affirmed, “Strengthened security coordination and cooperation are essential in the ongoing fight against terrorism.”
For his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi affirmed, “The treacherous attack will not pass without the just punishment of the terrorist criminals who committed this cowardly act.”
Kadhimi also hailed the Peshmerga Forces as “part of the national defense system” who “work side by side with their brothers in our valiant armed forces to secure” the country, while he affirmed that the threat from ISIS cannot be underestimated.
Read More: Makhmour ISIS attacks will not go unpunished, Iraqi PM says
Until Oct. 2017, the Peshmerga successfully controlled the disputed areas and those areas enjoyed much better security than they do now.
However, in the wake of the Kurdistan independence referendum, a military operation, engineered by the then-head of the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops, Qasim Soleimani, the Iraqi Army, along with some of the Popular Mobilization Forces, drove the Peshmerga out of the disputed territories.
The result, as these events make clear, has been a resurgence of the ISIS’ terrorist threat.
Then Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIS two months later, in Dec. 2017. While ISIS no longer controls territory in Iraq, it remains a far more serious threat than Abadi suggested at the time.