Peshmerga ministry, Coalition discuss ISIS activities in disputed territories

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and the international coalition against ISIS on Sunday discussed the ISIS activities in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, according to a statement.

Minister of Peshmerga Affairs Shorish Ismael received the anti-ISIS Coalition’s Director for the Military Advisory Group Col. Paul Peters in Erbil, where they discussed the joint Iraqi and Kurdish efforts to battle the security threats, according to the ministry statement.

The military leaders underlined the security situation of the region as well as the activities of the terror group in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad.

They also stressed the importance of inaugurating the two joint brigades between Peshmerga and Iraqi military forces in order to fill the security vacuum in the area, the statement added.

The Kurdish official reiterated that his ministry is putting efforts into strengthening cooperation with the Iraqi army and security forces for the sake of protecting stability.

Although the terror group was defeated territorially in 2017, it still launches low-level insurgency against civilian as well as security targets, particularly in the disputed territories.

Erbil and Baghdad have discussed forming joint forces and deploying them in those areas in order to prevent the resurgence of the group. But the forces have not been allocated budgets by the Iraqi government, resulting in the stalemate of the formation.

“Iraqi officials repeatedly tell us that the brigade will soon be formed,” Ismail said in a presser recently, expressing his disappointment that despite significant progress, the joint forces have not been formed yet.