ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Baghdad has installed five separate checkpoints along a 45km stretch of road between Pirde and Kirkuk. A local official said the measure is required to combat the ongoing ISIS presence in the region.
“The Iraqi government has erected five checkpoints from the town of Pirde to Kirkuk city, a move annoying people and delaying them from their work,” Mophammed Nadir Mina of Pirde town council told Rudaw.
However, Abdi Najmadin, head of Pirde police, said the multiple checkpoints are not there to “annoy” people but to “provide them a secure drive”.
There are up to 12 ISIS militants hiding in the region, Najmadin said. “Therefore we are forced to protect the security of people... checkpoints are of great importance.”
People who use the Erbil-Kirkuk road have complained that Iraqi government-run checkpoints often demand proof of vehicle ownership. In some cases vehicles are confiscated.
“As a normal duty, the security establishments confiscate those vehicles whose original owners disappear,” Najmadin said.
They confiscate around 20 vehicles on a daily basis, he said.
“This is because the vehicles are not registered under the name of the drivers. If the driver has a purchase document of the car or the car is registered under the name of a close relative, then we let them go. But, if it is registered under someone else’s name, whereby the driver does not know who they are or does not carry a purchase document, then the car is confiscated,” he said.
Vehicles are returned to their owners once they show relevant documents.
The Kirkuk-Erbil road was recently reopened following multiple meetings between KRG and Baghdad officials.
The KRG has re-opened its side of all roads connecting Kurdistan Region cities and towns to those of Iraq. Baghdad has been slower, choosing to open one road at a time.
The roads were closed following the events of October 16, when Iraqi forces and Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias took over Kirkuk and the disputed territories, forcing the Peshmerga to withdraw.
The bridge over the Little Zab River at Pirde was damaged in the fighting. A temporary steel bridge is being put in place while the original is rebuilt.
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