ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s federal security forces and the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces agreed on Sunday to bolster coordination in disputed areas jointly secured by both sides, as officials in Baghdad discussed border security, intelligence sharing, and joint training to address security vacuums.
A high-level security meeting was held in Baghdad, chaired by Abdul-Amir Shammari, director of the Office of the Commander in Chief of Iraq's Armed Forces. The meeting was attended by Peshmerga Chief of Staff Issa Ozeir and senior Iraqi and Kurdish security officials, according to statements from Iraq’s Security Media Cell and the Ministry of Peshmerga.
The meeting reviewed security conditions in areas where joint brigades of Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces operate and control, with both sides stressing the need for greater coordination “so that they can better control these areas and maintain their security,” the Peshmerga Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The meeting comes as disputed areas between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government have long faced security threats from the Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells in security vacuums between federal and Peshmerga forces. Joint brigades have been deployed in parts of the areas as part of efforts to prevent militant activity and improve security coordination.
During the Sunday meeting, the federal and regional officials discussed securing Iraq’s international borders, preventing smuggling and infiltration, and improving cooperation between Iraq border guards and the Peshmerga. They agreed to develop joint training programs and exercises, according to the Security Media Cell.
The statement did not provide details about the training.
Two military academies officially affiliated with Iraq’s Ministry of Defense operate in the Kurdistan Region - one in Zakho district, Duhok province, and the other in Qalachwalan, Sulaimani province. Both academies train and graduate Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi military personnel.
Despite the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq near the end of 2017, the group has maintained sleeper cells, particularly in the disputed areas between Kurdish and Iraqi forces. Since the defeat of the group, ISIS cells have continued to conduct hit-and-run attacks on security forces and kidnap civilians.
The two sides maintained coordination during the war against ISIS, but ties broke down after Iraqi forces launched an offensive in October 2017 to retake disputed territories in response to the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. The two sides have since worked to strengthen coordination and improve monitoring of contact lines to ensure ISIS militants could not exploit the gap.
During the meeting, Iraqi officials also called for stronger cooperation in combating drug trafficking and dismantling related networks, while discussing ways to improve joint coordination centers and accelerate the exchange of intelligence between Baghdad and Erbil.
The discussion comes as Iraqi and Kurdish authorities step up efforts against drug trafficking.
On Thursday, Iraq's General Directorate of Narcotic Affairs said it seized one kilogram of “magic mushrooms” and two kilograms of marijuana in Sulaimani province, in what they described as the country's first seizure of the mushrooms.
Shammari stressed the need to prioritize international border security, conduct joint exercises, “handing over wanted individuals to the judiciary, and expanding and deepening intelligence cooperation” between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region, the Security Media Cell said.
The meeting also reviewed remarks from the Peshmerga chief of staff on the implementation of field security plans, and concluded with recommendations aimed at strengthening security integration and coordinating efforts to maintain stability.
