Kurdish, Iraqi military speak of intelligence sharing and joint operations against ISIS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—High-level Kurdish and Iraqi military officials met in Baghdad Thursday to discuss the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) and joint planned operations against the group across the country.

Head of Kurdistan Region’s Anti-terror Squad, Lahor Sheikh Jangi met with Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi and other high-level security and military officials in Baghdad.

“We are at the Defense Ministry to discuss intelligence relations and cooperation between both sides which will be seen on the ground in the coming days,” said Sheikh Jangi.

“Our cooperation will be far from politics or sectarianism,” he added. “It will be on sharing intelligence and our Anti-terror Squad is ready to do its part.”

Obeidi whose army has been fighting ISIS daily in Anbar and Baiji said that the Peshmerga have fought in earnest and sacrificed immensely in this war.

“These forces [Peshmerga] are part of the Iraqi defense forces,” said al-Obeidi, stressing that “there should be more coordination with them especially as we are getting ready for Nineveh operations,”

A statement from the Iraqi Defense Ministry said that “The coming days will see cooperation at the highest level between both sides to reach the national goals and destroy terrorist organizations across Iraq,”

This meeting comes amid concerns that Baghdad might bring Russia into the ISIS war in Iraq and drift away from the American-led coalition that includes the Kurdish Peshmerga.