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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Following a series of Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in areas disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Peshmerga affairs deployed several armored vehicles to bolster Kurdish forces combating ISIS.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani sent Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, his deputy for military affairs, to visit Peshmerga forces on the Garmaser front, which includes the Garmiyan and Khanaqin areas near the Iranian border.
The KRG official and his military delegation were accompanying a convoy of heavy weapons, consisting mainly of armored vehicles, to the front.
Sheikh Mustafa told Rudaw, “This is a backup force to be used against Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIS] in their attacks in the area. We will deploy backup forces to anywhere needed.”
Garmiyan, a disputed territory claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil, is currently under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga and Asayesh forces.
Several Peshmerga fighters and members of local Kurdish security forces have been killed in a recent series of ISIS attacks in the disputed area between Garmiyan and Khanaqin.
Three members of the Asayesh, the KRG’s security force, were killed in the Kolajo (Golajo) sub-district of Garmiyan administration in late November. On Wednesday, three Peshmerga fighters were killed only one kilometer away from the previous attack on the Asayesh.
A lack of coordination between Kurdish and Iraqi forces due to these ongoing territorial disputes has led to a security vacuum. The absence of both Iraqi and Kurdish patrols in certain disputed border areas and the Kurdish forces’ lack of heavy weapons are said to be key reasons behind the recent uptick in ISIS attacks.
ISIS, which controlled swathes of Iraqi territory from 2014 to 2017, now uses its sleeper cells to carry out hit-and-run attacks, sniper attacks and kidnappings. They have also caused damage and fatalities in disputed provinces like Kirkuk using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to target Iraqi, Kurdish and Coalition security forces.
Mahmoud Sangawi, the Peshmerga commander on the Garmaser front, told Rudaw that the Peshmerga can remove ISIS from the area “if the Iraqi Army allows us.”
“We were informed by the head of Asayesh that they [ISIS] have formed a force to fight Kurdish forces. We will confront Daesh wherever they exist,” he said.
“We will attack and remove Daesh in the area if Iraqi Army allows us. We used to have a force, half of the size of current Iraqi forces there, against Daesh when it was stronger,” added the commander.
More Peshmerga fighters are expected to be deployed to the borders of areas disputed by the Baghdad and Erbil governments.
The arrival of the heavy weapons was welcomed by residents of the area, some of whom were planning to leave due to the renewed threat of ISIS.
“People will be more confident if there are more troops. This can also prevent people from leaving the area because many were planning to leave. They changed their minds after seeing the deployment of the weapons,” Ali Imad, resident of Garmiyan, told Rudaw.
Farhad Jameel, another resident, said that even more weapons should be deployed.
KRG deputy Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa ensured that the Kurdish government will do “what is necessary … to ensure the safety of the people.”
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