ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A joint brigade of Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, tasked with securing disputed areas where Islamic State (ISIS) militants take advantage of a security vacuum, will begin operations within the next two weeks, the Iraqi parliament’s deputy speaker announced on Saturday.
Following a meeting with the Iraqi army’s chief of staff General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah it was decided to put aside lingering issues surrounding the joint brigades so they can start operations, Deputy Speaker Shakhawan Abdullah said on his personal Facebook page.
Joint brigade 20 is expected to be formed before December 1, according to Abdullah, and names of individuals joining the force will be announced by the defense ministry “in the next few hours.”
ISIS militants have taken advantage of the security vacuum that exists between federal and regional forces in areas disputed between the two governments around Kirkuk, Diyala, Khanaqin, Salahaddin, and western Nineveh. On Saturday, the global coalition against ISIS announced that Iraqi forces found an ISIS tunnel filled with munitions in western Nineveh.
To combat ISIS in these areas, the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga ministry agreed in 2021 to form two joint brigades that will be under full control of the federal government.
Despite the agreement, the formation of the brigades was delayed because of turmoil around forming the government after the 2021 election and lack of funding. There is also a historic lack of trust between the two forces. Last month, a misunderstanding between them in the Makhmour area led to a deadly altercation.
In the Pentagon’s most recent report on anti-ISIS activities up to the end of September, the coalition said it expects the joint brigades will “enable greater information-sharing between the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] and KSF [Kurdish Security Forces] that will in turn lead to more effective counter-ISIS operations. Fighting alongside each other also might engender trust between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish soldiers.”