Peshmerga, Iraqi army to coordinate with Hashd al-Shaabi

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The first meeting to discuss coordinations between representatives of Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, and Hashd al-Shaabi militia was held in Kirkuk Province.

Governor of Kirkuk, Najmaddin Karim released a statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday stating that “The meeting, held at the governorate building, was to establish coordinations...in order to enhance stability in the newly liberated areas and to liberate areas currently under the control of the Islamic State (IS).”

The meeting was attended by several high-ranking military officials from the Kurdistan Region including acting Minister of Peshmerga Karim Sinjari and the Peshmerga commanders from Makhmour and Kirkuk frontlines. The Iraqi government was represented by the deputy commander of Joint Operations Command, commander of Ground Forces and commander of the Air Force. Hashd al-Shaabi's delegation was headed by one of its main deputies, Hadi al-Amiri.

Sirwan Barzani, Peshmerga commander on Makhmour and Gwer frontlines told Kurdistan24 that plans to liberate the city of Hawija, 30 miles southwest of Kirkuk, was not discussed in the meeting. “We did not reach any agreements; it was just a general meeting,” he stated.

Hadi al-Amiri, also Secretary-General of the Shia Badr Organization told reporters on Tuesday that the goal of the meeting was to coordinate with the Kurdistan Regional Government and Joint Operations Command to ward off IS from Taza, also in Kirkuk.

According to Reuters, IS launched a number of chemical weapons attacks on March 12 from the town of Taza, injuring more than 600 people.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran and Soran Kamaran
Editing by Ava Homa and Benjamin Kweskin