‘Trenches on Kurdistan Region border for military purposes’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Region President stated that coordination with Baghdad will continue in the post-Islamic State (IS) Mosul.  

Masoud Barzani, the Kurdistan Region President, and Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Shia’s National Alliance held a joint press conference in one of the Peshmerga frontlines near Mosul on Thursday.

President Barzani stated that the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga forces are collaborating for the Mosul operation, and a committee will be formed to resolve the problems in the post-IS Mosul.

President Barzani reiterated the Kurdistan Region’s position that Peshmerga forces will not enter Mosul city center, stating that the roles of all military forces have been determined based on the agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.

Asked about the trenches dug by Peshmerga forces in the recently liberated areas in the frontlines in north, northeast and east Mosul, President Barzani said that “The trenches are for military purposes.”

Regarding the IS attack on Kirkuk, President Barzani explained that the attack was only to make up for the terrorist's imminent defeat, saying that “Peshmerga reinforcement from the frontlines were sent to inside Kirkuk but Kurdistan's security forces had already controlled the situation before the Peshmerga arrived.”

The morale of the IS extremists is nearly collapsed, Barzani said.

Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the National Alliance during the press conference praised President Barzani’s last visit to Baghdad and considered the visit as the base for the current coordination between Erbil and Bagdad.

Hakim praised the high coordinate between the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces in the Mosul operation. “This coordination will hopefully lead to increasing coordination to resolve all other long-standing issues between Erbil and Baghdad,” he added.

Concerning the Turkish presence near Bashiq northeast of Mosul, Hakim said that any foreign troops participating in the war against IS in Iraq should get the consent of the Iraqi government, stating that “These forces have not entered Iraq in coordination with the Iraqi government and we have asked Turkey to withdraw its troops.”

Editing by Ava Homa