ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – ISIS positions near Makhmour were successfully cleared on Monday night in a joint Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces (ISF) operation with coalition air support. US-led coalition spokesman Colonel Sean Ryan hailed the collaboration, but warned the fight is not finished.
“They did very well. Their job is the root out ISIS in the area and deny them safe havens. According to commander [Masrour] Barzani they did very well, hit 30 different areas along with Iraqi airstrikes, destroyed five different tunnels. So they’re working very well together,” Ryan told Rudaw.
“The mountainous terrain was very difficult – very hilly with snipers in there, and destroying caves, but together they performed very well, and hopefully they will get rid of all the ISIS in that area.”
The operation, launched early morning with about 500 Peshmerga, was “successfully” concluded Monday evening, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said. Thirty square kilometers of territory has now been cleared south of Mount Qarachogh, which was used as an ISIS safe haven.
The Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve, provided air support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces on the ground. Fourteen ISIS fighters were killed in the operation. The precise number of Peshmerga and ISF casualties has not been confirmed.
“We are still seeing pockets of ISIS in that area. And the Peshmerga are outstanding fighters, so any time you can join forces, the more the better, because the overall goal for everyone here in Iraq should be to destroy ISIS at any cost. So we’re hoping to see more Peshmerga force action, because like I mentioned before, I’ve seen them in action and I think they’re amazing soldiers,” Ryan added.
The collaboration between the Peshmerga and the ISF is an important development in this disputed area, managed by the ISF since the federal takeover of the disputed areas after October 16.
“ISIS terrorists capitalized on the Peshmerga-ISF security gaps in the area to attack nearby forces,” the KRSC said in a statement following the operation.
Iraqi commanders and civilians in areas threatened by ISIS remnants are urging Baghdad to allow Peshmerga forces to return to the disputed territories, particularly Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin, and areas around the Hamrin Mountains.
“What we’re worried about is these small pockets,” Ryan told Rudaw. “They are in the Kirkuk area where we’re seeing as well as the Syria area as well, over the Euphrates River Valley, we are seeing some of these fighters that have left the battles, previous battles, go into other areas, and they are very small pockets. But as you see from the kidnappings, they can be pretty lethal.
“But I do believe in the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga forces will rid ISIS from these areas and they have begun the conditions for setting the stage for destroying them.”
Ryan said the focus of anti-ISIS operations must be on targeting the group’s finances, logistics, and remaining safe havens. “Once that happens it will be very difficult for ISIS to pose any threat,” he said.
Asked whether the coalition is any closer to finding the whereabouts of ISIS leader and self-style ‘caliph’ Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Ryan said tracking him is secondary to degrading the group’s fighting capabilities overall.
“We hear the same rumors that you probably do, but I don’t believe that one individual is that important or worth spending all that time and effort looking for him. I believe we will find him in time. But destroying ISIS at large is really our main goal. It’s to have no ISIS remnants left on the battlefield and in the towns and cities of both Iraq and Syria,” he said.
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