Iraqi parliament speaker in Erbil to meet with Kurdistan PM on security, political coordination

Mustafa Shilani 2021/12/07 16:31

Kurdistan Region PM Masrour Barzani (Left) greets Iraq's interim Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi in Erbil, Dec. 7, 2021. (Photo: KRG)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq Baghdad Erbil Iraq Election 2021 Disputed Territories Peshmerga ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday received Mohammed al-Halbousi, Iraq's interim parliament speaker and head of the Sunni-majority Taqadum (Progress) Alliance, at the Kurdish official's office in Erbil.

Aside from discussing "the latest developments in Iraq, the war on terrorism and the recent attacks launched by the ISIS terrorist group," according to a statement released by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as well as "the importance of coordination between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi military."

ISIS militants have recently ramped up their attacks against both civilians and security forces across Iraq, particularly in the north, where the disputed territories between Iraq’s federal and regional governments are located, taking advantage of security gaps between the two sides.

Since Nov. 27, the militants have killed 23 people, including Peshmerga fighters and civilians of the Kurdistan Region, something Peshmerga officials that day were scheduled to speak about the security situation before the parliament of the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

A joint brigade of the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga were deployed on Monday to the disputed village of Lheban northwest of Kirkuk following an ISIS attack there.

Later that day, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with top Peshmerga commanders and officials on Monday to discuss the latest security developments and ongoing challenges in the areas.

After the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum, Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in October 2017 pushed the Peshmerga out of multiple of the contested areas, creating large areas where ISIS has consistently been able to exploit the resulting security vacuum to stage deadly and disruptive attacks.

The Iraqi military announced in early November 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 security vacuum caused by gaps between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces.

Prime Minister Barzani and Speaker Halbousi also discussed "political understandings for the requirements of the next phase, which contributes to the stability of the country through effective participation of the Sunni and Kurdish components, the advancement of the economic situation and the improvement of the living conditions of Iraqi citizens," referring to the need for current political negotiations to bridge differences between parties to form the next federal administration.

"Active participation of all Iraqi components will pave the way to fundamentally solving the problems between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government in accordance with the constitution," he concluded.