Iraqi, Peshmerga forces destroy 14 ISIS hideouts in new joint operation: Ministry
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Joint military forces of the Iraqi federal government and the autonomous Kurdistan Region announced on Wednesday that, together, they destroyed 14 ISIS hideouts in the embattled nation’s disputed territories, which have recently seen an uptick in deadly attacks from members of the extremist organization.
“The joint operation with @Defense_Iraq continues since today morning in both sectors of Garmaser and Qaratapa,” the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs wrote in a tweet.
The joint operation with @Defense_Iraq continues since today morning in both sectors of garmaser and qaratapa, & we have been able to detail search most of the targeted area's & so far 14 ISIS hideouts have been destroyed. pic.twitter.com/JTMVgdhIRa
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) December 8, 2021
It continued, “We have been able to detail search most of the targeted area's & so far 14 ISIS hideouts have been destroyed.”
Read More: Peshmerga, Iraqi Army launch coordinated operation against ISIS in Garmiyan
Brigades of the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga launched an operation targeting ISIS militants in the Garmiyan area of the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday.
Sheikh Jafar Sheikh Mustafa, the Kurdistan Region's Vice President for Military Affairs, wrote in a tweet on Wednesday, that the operation was being carried out in areas he referred to as “Sectors 1, 2 and 3.”
Happening now; ISIS Cleansing Operation with sec.1,2 and 3.@KurdistanRegion @KRG_MOPE @OIRSpox @CJTFOIR @vvanwilgenburg pic.twitter.com/ax2YST9peh
— Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa (@SheikhJaafarSh1) December 8, 2021
The aim of such joint operations is to “thwart ISIS threats and destroy their hideouts,” read a statement released earlier today from the Peshmerga ministry’s media department earlier said today.
Also on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Wednesday met with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil to discuss Iraqi-Kurdish operations against ISIS.
Read More: There is no ‘safe environment’ for terrorism in Iraq, PM Kadhimi says in Makhmour
He also met with top Peshmerga commanders in Makhmour and visited the village of Lheban, where locals have recently taken up arms to defend themselves against repeated ISIS attacks in or near the disputed territories.
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.