ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US special envoy for the global coalition against Islamic State (ISIS) arrived in Erbil on Saturday to discuss US support for Kurds and the recent ISIS attacks on Kurdish forces near the Iranian border.
James Jeffrey first met with Masoud Barzani, President of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to discuss the latest developments in both Iraq and Syria such as the Iraqi protests, the ongoing threat of ISIS and “prevention of demographic changes” in Syria in the face of the Turkish incursion, according to a readout from Barzani’s office.
The US needs “the advice and support” of the KDP leader - who is also the former President of the Kurdistan Region - when it comes to the condition of Syrian Kurds, Jeffrey has said, according to the readout.
The envoy then met with Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The recent ISIS attacks against Kurdish forces in the disputed territories were also discussed.
“We much admire what you are doing for your economy [and] what you have done against Daesh. We are very sorry for your losses recently in the fight against Daesh,” Jeffrey said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
“[We] will stand with you in this fight and continue to work with you for stability, not just here in Iraq but the entire region,” he told reporters.
The trip follows a series of ISIS attacks against local security forces (Asayesh) and Peshmerga fighters in Kolajo (Golajo) subdistrict in Garmiyan administration, Diyala province – territory disputed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Alarmed by the potential for further attacks, the KRG’s ministry of Peshmerga Affairs deployed several heavy weapons to the area.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraq in 2014, controlling several provinces including Diyala. However, when it neared KRG-held areas in the north, the US-led coalition provided Kurdish forces with aerial support and military equipment to push them back.
Jeffrey was previously in Baghdad on Thursday to meet with outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. They both discussed cooperation between Iraq and the US in the fight against ISIS, according to a readout from Abdul-Mahdi’s office.
Prior to his visit to Iraq, the US state department said that the envoy would “discuss our continued cooperation to ensure an enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and our ongoing stabilization efforts in areas liberated from ISIS.”
