Kurdish forces spot ISIS fighters in Makhmour: Commander

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish Peshmerga forces recently spotted Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Makhmour town, southwest of Erbil city, a senior Peshmerga commander said on Sunday. 

Peshmerga forces based in between Makhmour and Gwer towns “spotted ISIS members using thermal binoculars at night in the Qarach plains about five days ago. They also carry out activities but they are limited and involve small numbers,” Sirwan Barzani, who commands Peshmerga forces in the area, told Rudaw. 

He added that the US-led global coalition against ISIS shares their belief that ISIS “terrorist jihadist ideology still persists.”

“ISIS remains a threat because its ideology remains. It is true that they officially do not control any territory, but their jihadist ideology persists. They will [attack] whenever they find an opportunity,” he said. 

ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in 2014, declaring a so-called caliphate. The group was declared territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq. Despite its military defeat, it continues to pose security risks, particularly in the vast eastern deserts of Syria.

Sirwan Barzani added that their coordination with the coalition and Iraqi army is strong, “especially in terms of intelligence sharing and information exchange.”

Qais al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq's Joint Operations Command, told Rudaw in September that their cooperation with the coalition and Peshmerga was ongoing. 

He believed that ISIS no longer poses a threat to Iraq. 

“All they have is a little bit of movement and a number of sleeper cells in some areas of Kirkuk and deserts of Anbar [province], and we will destroy them,” he stated at the time. 

The fight against ISIS marked a key moment of cooperation between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army, which had historically been at odds. In recent years, both sides have formed joint brigades and launched coordinated operations to close security gaps in the disputed territories.

"We have two joint brigades with the Peshmerga. Together, we exert full efforts to minimize threats and fill security voids," Muhammadawi noted.

Sirwan Barzani also highlighted their ties with the army. 

“Our coordination with the Iraqi army is very strong. We always have joint operations and the joint brigades, although they are few in number, have filled some gaps,” he said. 

Makhmour is located southwest of Erbil and administratively part of Nineveh province.