Iraqi, Kurdish commanders hail improved security in disputed territories

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi and Kurdistan Region commanders hail improved security conditions in the disputed territories as a result of enhanced cooperation between the two forces, top officials told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

A senior Iraqi military delegation from Tuz Khurmato Operations Command visited the Second Qaratapa-Hamrin Sector in Diyala province and met with senior Peshmerga commanders in the area on Wednesday to follow up on security cooperation and plans. 

The Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have conducted numerous sweeping operations in the province's remote areas, where the ISIS militants had kidnapped shepherds and conducted hit-and-run attacks following the group’s territorial defeat in 2017.

Thanks to the cooperation between the forces, “I can certainly say that our areas are secured 99 percent,” Mardan Salih, the commander of the sector, told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

Although the group no longer holds territories, it operates in small groups nowadays in the area, the Kurdish commander added.

“Our plans and cooperation are at an excellent level [with Peshmerga forces],” Major General Imad Al-Maliki, the head of Tuz Khurmatu and Sleman Bag Operations Command, told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

The anti-ISIS operations by the Iraqi forces come as the Global Coalition Against ISIS and the United Nations warned that threat from the group is ongoing despite decreased attacks.

Following the conclusion of the anti-ISIS US-led coalition's combat mission in late 2021, the Iraqi Air Force has increased its air campaign against the remnants of the group.

The terror group occupied approximately one-third of Iraq for nearly three years, including its second-largest city Mosul.

Since the group's self-styled caliphate was destroyed by Kurdish, Iraqi, and international forces, it has regrouped in remote parts of the country. It continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.

Additional reporting Kurdistan 24 reporter in Garmiyan Harem Jaff