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Baghdad and Erbil hold talks on military cooperation against ISIS | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the front line in Khazer, near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aski Kalak, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on August 8, 2014. (AFP/Safin Hamed)


Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the front line in Khazer, near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aski Kalak, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on August 8, 2014. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the front line in Khazer, near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aski Kalak, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on August 8, 2014. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—A high-level Peshmerga delegation arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss measures to deepen security and military cooperation between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Kurdistan’s Peshmerga Ministry confirmed that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga Minister Mustafa Qadir and Interior Minister Karim Sinjari are in Baghdad to discuss military coordination in the battle against ISIS. They are accompanied by a number of Kurdish military officials, including senior Peshmerga commander Lt. Gen. Shirwan Abdul Rahman.

Kurdistan Alliance MP Mohammed Taha, a former member of the Kurdish parliament’s Defense and Security Committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The Kurdish military delegation’s visit to Baghdad [builds on] the previous dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil. But what is new this time is that the dialogue will focus specifically on joint coordination between Iraqi and Kurdish military and security apparatus on combating ISIS.”

The visit also comes just days after Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, announced that a shipment of arms from Baghdad had reached Kurdish fighters following Peshmerga calls for more arms and military assistance from the Iraqi government.

As for whether the two sides will discuss coordination of an expected joint military offensive to retake Mosul, Taha said: “Certainly everything will be discussed.”

“The Peshmerga forces need to know the specific plans for the battle of Mosul, particularly as there could be some sensitives to the presence of Kurdish fighters in the Arab areas. Therefore, the people of these areas must hold their own territory,” he added.

Iraqi and Peshmerga forces have been pushing back ISIS fighters in northern and central parts of the country with a view to launching a major offensive to recapture the city of Mosul from ISIS. ISIS fighters were able to capture the city—Iraq’s second largest—in June of last year after quickly taking control of the city of Samarra, meeting little government resistance. The ISIS advance was eventually stemmed by Peshmerga forces from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, who advanced into the city of Kirkuk to prevent it from falling into the hands of the jihadist group and its allies.

Although relations between Baghdad and Erbil were rocky during the administration of former prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki, tensions have eased somewhat following the appointment of Haider Al-Abadi as premier, and particularly following the emergence of ISIS, which represents a threat to both governments.

“The relationship between Baghdad and Erbil has witnessed important developments that have had an effect on the situation on the ground but we need to continue our counter-terror efforts in this regard, particularly after we have begun to see positive movement by the new government,” Taha said.

“There is excellent coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the anti-ISIS international coalition forces and this is something that we can see in the liberation of strategic areas north of Mosul,” he added.