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Kurdistan
President Barzani meets with the coalition deputy commanding general Brigadier Richard Bell in Erbil on May 26, 2021. Photo: Presidency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met on Wednesday with the deputy commanding general of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), discussing the recent formation of joint coordination centers between the Peshmerga and Iraqi Army to curb the movement of ISIS fighters in the disputed territories.
President Barzani received Brigadier Richard Bell in Erbil, hailing the coordination centers as an “important step” in the fight against the terror group.
“Both sides agreed that the establishment of joint cooperation and coordination centers between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Army in areas where a security gap exists is an important step,” read a statement from Barzani’s office.
They also discussed other security issues and the threat of terrorism in Iraq and Syria.
Barzani said that military options are not enough to defeat ISIS. “We have to fight terror ideologically as well,” added the statement from his office.
There is a security void in areas disputed between the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq where forces of neither side operate. Iraqi forces drove the Peshmerga out of these areas in 2017 after the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum, but have not been able to cement their control in areas that are often rugged terrain and home to ethnically mixed populations. In some areas, the gap between the two security forces is 40 kilometers wide.
ISIS has taken advantage of the situation. The group has “successfully exploited gaps in security coverage in disputed areas along the boundary that separates the Iraqi Kurdistan Region from the rest of Iraq,” the Pentagon stated in its latest quarterly report on anti-ISIS operations.
The joint coordination centers will see Kurdish and Iraqi forces collaborating and sharing intelligence to combat ISIS in the disputed areas.
Coalition spokesperson Wayne Marotto said the centers will operate under the "direct supervision" of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to coordinate and collect intelligence.
After several meetings between Peshmerga forces and Iraqi Army, they formed the first coordination center in Diyala last week. Several Peshmerga officers were deployed to the center. This week, centers were also opened in Kirkuk and Makhmour, with both areas frequent targets for ISIS militants. A fourth one is expected to be formed in Mosul in the coming days.
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