Coalition continues to support ‘brave Peshmerga forces’
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Major Rachael Jeffcoat, coalition spokesperson told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday that the US-led coalition “supports our Iraq, Syria and partner forces, including the brave Peshmerga forces, to carry out our shared mission.”
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The Ministry of Peshmerga has regularly received military aid from the US-led coalition through the US Department of Defense (DoD)-funded Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) program.
In 2022 alone, the US provided $351 million dollars in equipment and ammunition to Peshmerga forces from the counter terrorist equipment fund, according to Jeffocat. “So for example, we provided them with engineering equipment to help with our base infrastructure. We've also provided them with Humvees. All of this is in order to help and aid in the defeat of ISIS,” she added.
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Although ISIS has been territorially defeated, they can still carry out limited but deadly attacks. On Dec. 26, ISIS carried out an attack on a security facility in Raqqa that holds ISIS fighters, killing six fighters.
Major Jeffcoat was aware of the attacks in Raqqa and said: “we are thinking about that, we're monitoring the current situation.” She added that the Raqqa attack shows the importance of the coalition mission. “Our thoughts are with those that were killed or affected by this, but that's exactly why the coalition is here and that is exactly why we partner with our partner forces such as the Peshmerga to advise, assist, and enable our enduring defeat of ISIS so things like this will not continue to occur.”
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Nevertheless, she said that ISIS is not reorganizing or reactive after a spate of attacks in Iraq and Syria killed dozens of fighters. “Actually, in 2022, we have seen a decrease in operations. Again, that's why we are here as the global coalition is to advise and assist in this enduring defeat of ISIS.”
She further added that “ISIS doesn't claim any land anymore as it once did. We have rid them of their land. They don't claim that anymore. However, “ISIS is using any means such as advantages, weather and regional instability to plan their attacks.”
“Our partner forces have been doing a fantastic job in their operations in defeating ISIS. (There) are credible embedded partner forces such as the Peshmerga that we advise and they have been doing an excellent job in defeating ISIS. In fact, our Iraqi and Syrian partner forces have conducted very successful operations,” she stressed.
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Last week, Gen. Michael Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command told reporters that “territorially, ISIS is defeated and incapable of holding large swaths of land.”
However, he added, “while ISIS is significantly degraded in Iraq and Syria, the group does maintain the capability to conduct operations in the region, and we know the group has the desire to strike outside of the region.”