Kurdistan Region’s security agencies are well coordinated with us, says top Iraqi military official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Yahya Rasul, Spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief, on Thursday announced to the Iraqi News Agency that Kurdistan Region’s security agencies are well coordinated with their Iraqi counterparts.

"The Joint Operations Command's targeting cell coordinates with all intelligence agencies including the counter-terrorism agency, military intelligence, and national intelligence,” Rasul added.

He also said that it is the target cell's responsibility to gather information as well as determine what information to present to the military leadership of the Joint Operations Command, and where decisions are made on whether to conduct airstrikes or special operations to pursue terrorist militants.

Moreover, he stated that as part of the government service effort, the military engineer in the Ministry of Defense is laying bridges, removing mines and opening roads in areas of the country that are compromised by ISIS.

Despite the coordination between the Kurdistan Region’s security agencies and the Iraqi government, there are still concerns that ISIS sleeper cells are active in Iraq. These cells have been linked to a recent surge in violence and terrorist attacks in the country. Additionally, the group has been known to use covert tactics, such as infiltrating civilian populations and using local support networks to evade detection and launch attacks.

The exact number of ISIS members remaining in Iraq is disputed, but estimates suggest that there are still several thousand members of the group operating within the country.