WATCH: ‘Kurds central for major battle in Mosul’

A Middle East expert said in a recent interview that Kurds are a central part of the upcoming Mosul offensive against the Islamic State (IS).
kurdistan24.net

WASHINGTON, United States (Kurdistan24) – A Middle East expert said in a recent interview that Kurds are a central part of the upcoming Mosul offensive against the Islamic State (IS).

Owen Daniels, an Assistant Director for the Middle East Peace and Security Initiative, Brent Scowcroft Center at Atlantic Council, spoke to Kurdistan24 about Kurds’ role in the battle against IS.

Daniels also addressed the US Deputy Foreign Minister Antony Blinken’s recent visit to Kurdistan to discuss details leading into the Mosul operation.

He explained the US delegation’s meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leadership was meant to prepare militarily with Kurds for the fight in Mosul.

The Assistant Director said Washington plans to “coordinate” with the Kurds who are the most “effective fighters on the ground.”

Moreover, Daniels revealed Washington’s desire for Kurdish unity and said it is vital to the “major battle” against IS.

“Part of the reason the US is concerned about Kurdish unity is they see the Kurds as really central to this final battle against [IS in Iraq],” he told Kurdistan24.

“The administration wants to make sure the Kurds are as strong and unified as possible going into that final attack,” he continued.

Additionally, Daniels discussed Mosul’s governance after the city’s liberation stating the US would have to “help influence the process.”

“The matter of Kurdish independence and Kurdistan’s role in the country and future of Iraq [is expected] to be left to the people of the country,” he said.

“It’ll be a matter that the US tries to stay out of as much as possible, but it will be kind of difficult given the degrees to which the Kurds have been so effective in the [anti-IS] campaign,” Daniels concluded.

 

 

(Kurdistan24 team in Washington, DC conducted the interview)