Iraqi army, federal police to secure post-IS Mosul: Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi army, federal, and local police forces will be in charge of securing the center of Mosul after the city is liberated from the Islamic State (IS), said a Kurdish Peshmerga official on Friday.

In an interview with Kurdistan24, Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga Ministry Jabar Yawar said the KRG, federal government of Iraq, and the US-led coalition have agreed on the details of the Mosul military operation.

Yawar stated that Erbil, Baghdad, and the coalition have agreed to place the Iraqi army, federal, and local police forces in charge of securing the center of Mosul after security forces clear the city from IS.

Regarding the participation of Turkey in the offensive, he noted the KRG had not discussed the role of any foreign troops in the military operation in high-meetings with the federal government of Iraq and the coalition.

Yawar added that the Iraqi army, federal and local police forces, Iraqi anti-terrorism units, Peshmerga forces, Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi, and Sunni tribal forces of Hashd al-Watani and Hashd al-Ashayiri would participate in the offensive.

“Baghdad has said some of the Hashd al-Watani forces are not related to the federal government of Iraq, but Turkey,” the Secretary-General stated.

“Thus, they said only those forces that had direct cooperation with Baghdad would participate in Mosul,” he continued.

Yawar also mentioned the advance of Peshmerga forces was determined in the plan indicating how far the Kurdish forces would go.

In June 2014, IS occupied Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. Since then, the city remains under the control of the jihadist group. 

Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the coalition have planned to retake Mosul by the end of 2016.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany