Peshmerga, Iraqi forces carry out rare, joint operation near Syrian border
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Ministry of Peshmerga said on Tuesday that Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Armed Forces carried out a joint operation against ISIS remnants in Sector 8 near the Syrian border.
A joint search #operation in the 8th sector, from the area of Rabia plain, the villages of Jazruniyah, Mahmudiya, Saudiya & Ain Aweis, between the Peshmerga forces & the Iraqi army was conducted in order to search for ISIS remnants, also for Maintaining the security of the region pic.twitter.com/eCtzNFTMPD
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) November 14, 2023
The term “Sector 8”, coined by the Peshmerga, is believed to refer to the districts of Mahmoudiya, Sinjar and Zummar.
“A joint search operation in the 8th sector, from the area of Rabia plain, the villages of Jazruniyah, Mahmudiya, Saudiya and Ain Aweis, between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army was conducted in order to search for ISIS remnants,” the Ministry of Peshmerga (MoPa) said in a tweet.
Iraqi forces and Peshmerga, who fought side by side in the fight against ISIS, battled each other in fierce skirmishes in Oct. 2017 in the villages of Mahmoudiya, near Rabia in Sector 8, northwest of Mosul.
The clashes came a few weeks after Kurdistan Region's referendum in Sept. 2017, which saw an overwhelming majority of Kurds favor secession from Iraq.
Following the vote, Iraqi forces and Iran-backed Shia Popular Mobilization Units (PMF) attacked and took over the oil-rich and ethnically-diverse province of Kirkuk, along with other disputed territories in Nineveh province, including Sinjar.
However, their further advances were repelled by Peshmerga forces in Mahmoudiya near Rabia, and Altun Kupri (Pirde), near Erbil.
After this incident, relative calm returned to the disputed territories, although ISIS have exploited the vacuum between Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga lines to carry out insurgent activities.
Moreover, Kurds have protested in Kirkuk against Iraqi control of the aforementioned disputed territory.
Read More: Iraqi PM should investigate protestor deaths in Kirkuk: HRW
On Sept. 2, Iraqi security forces, without warning, opened fire on Kurdish demonstrators, killing at least 4 people and injuring 16.
Moreover, on Oct. 22, at least three members of the Peshmerga forces were killed as a result of a skirmish with the Iraqi army near Makhmour.
Read More: Peshmerga ministry supports PM Al-Sudani’s call for probe into Iraqi-Peshmerga skirmish
On Nov. 2, the Ministry of Peshmerga and the Iraqi army signed an agreement to prevent such events in Makhmour from occurring again.