ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A fifth group of Iraqi troops arrived in the Makhmour front on Monday night to join forces being readied in the area for the long-anticipated battle for Mosul, a frontline Peshmerga commander said. "For security reasons, the Iraqi army forces will be based at a temporary military base in Makhmour in separate units and last night a number of Iraqi army's 15th division arrived at the base," the Peshmerga commander told Rudaw. The source added that the soldiers have already undergone military training in Baghdad. Sirwan Barzani, Peshmerga commander of the Gwer-Makhmour front said the deployment of Iraqi troops to the area was done in agreement between the Peshmerga ministry and Iraq’s defense department. Baghdad announced last month that 4,500 soldiers would be deployed to Makhmour in the Nineveh plains to participate in the Mosul offensive. The first batch of the troops arrived on February 9. US officials in Iraq have confirmed the establishment of a joint command center in the area to gather Iraqi troops, Kurdish Peshmerga and Sunni fighters under one umbrella for the upcoming battle.
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