Senior Iraqi security delegation arrives in Erbil

Officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior were also part of the delegation, the state media Iraqi National Agency (INA), announced on Sunday. 
Iraqi security delegation (left) in a meeting with their Kurdish counterparts in Erbil, June 19, 2022. (Photo: Iraqi Joint Operations Command)
Iraqi security delegation (left) in a meeting with their Kurdish counterparts in Erbil, June 19, 2022. (Photo: Iraqi Joint Operations Command)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A top Iraqi security delegation arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s capital on Sunday, to discuss improving Iraqi-Kurdish security cooperation. 

The delegation consisting of the Iraqi Army’s Chief of Staff General, Abd Al Amir Rashid Yarallah, and the Deputy Commander of the Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant-General Abdul Amir Al-Shammary, was received by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed.

The military heads of land, air, and border commands are part of the delegation, as well as several intelligence officials.

Strengthening security cooperation between Erbil and Baghdad in the disputed territories is on the agenda, according to Tal’at. 

The security officials are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and other senior officials, Abdul Khaliq Tal’at, the Kurdish region’s representative at the Joint Operations Command, told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.

In a meeting with the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, the Iraqi officials expressed willingness to further cooperate with Peshmerga forces and the semi-autonomous region’s security organizations.

President Nechirvan Barzani (top right) during his meeting with the senior Iraqi security delegation in Erbil, June 19, 2022. (Photo: Kurdistan Region Presidency)
President Nechirvan Barzani (top right) during his meeting with the senior Iraqi security delegation in Erbil, June 19, 2022. (Photo: Kurdistan Region Presidency)

The Kurdish president said he hoped that the Peshmerga forces would be seen as part of the Iraqi defense forces, as they share the same goal of protecting the peace and stability of the country.

The territorial defeat of ISIS in 2017 has not put an end to security threats emanating from the remnants of the terror group. 

The militants are suspected to be highly active in the areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad. In the disputed areas, a “security vacuum” has emerged due to the lack of security cooperation, several Kurdish security officials and experts have reported. 

At least 11 civilians and members of the police were killed in the terror group's latest attack in Kirkuk and Nineveh in May.