Kurdistan
The US-led Global Coalition against ISIS visited the Peshmerga on the Makhmour-Gwer front on March 12, 2021. Photo: Sirwan Barzani Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A delegation from the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) on Friday visited the Peshmerga posted on the Makhmour-Gwer front to assess the security situation in the area and ongoing threats from ISIS, a Peshmerga commander said.
"The mission was to better understand the situation on the ground and be better prepared to answer any movement from ISIS terrorists in the area,” Sirwan Barzani, commander of Peshmerga forces’ Gwer-Makhmour front, said on Friday.
The visit from the Coalition military advisors and senior commanders came after the Coalition this week, in cooperation with Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, bombarded and destroyed ten ISIS bases on Mount Qarachogh on the Makhmour-Gwer front, about 60 kilometres southwest of Erbil.
Disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the area has become a safe haven for ISIS sleeper cells since the group’s territorial control came to an end in 2017 due to the security gap between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, as well as the rugged landscape. Officials have warned that ISIS is growing stronger and reorganizing in Iraq, particularly in these disputed areas.
Kurdish and Iraqi forces both continue to carry out separate operations backed by the US-led Coalition to root out ISIS remnants.
"The mission was to better understand the situation on the ground and be better prepared to answer any movement from ISIS terrorists in the area,” Sirwan Barzani, commander of Peshmerga forces’ Gwer-Makhmour front, said on Friday.
The visit from the Coalition military advisors and senior commanders came after the Coalition this week, in cooperation with Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, bombarded and destroyed ten ISIS bases on Mount Qarachogh on the Makhmour-Gwer front, about 60 kilometres southwest of Erbil.
Disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the area has become a safe haven for ISIS sleeper cells since the group’s territorial control came to an end in 2017 due to the security gap between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, as well as the rugged landscape. Officials have warned that ISIS is growing stronger and reorganizing in Iraq, particularly in these disputed areas.
Kurdish and Iraqi forces both continue to carry out separate operations backed by the US-led Coalition to root out ISIS remnants.
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