Iraqi, Peshmerga forces conduct anti-ISIS operation in Kifri

Layal Shakir
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi armed forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga on Wednesday launched a joint operation in the Kifri-Garmaser front to clear out remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS) following a surge in the group’s attacks in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad that have left over twenty soldiers dead and several others injured in recent weeks.

The forces began their  large security operation to clear the area from ISIS sleeper cells in the Kifri-Garmaser front, a  recent target by the militant group and an area of common security between the Kurdish forces and the Iraqi army, the Peshmerga ministry said in a statement.

The cleansing operation is being observed by the Kurdistan Region Vice President Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa.

A force from the Iraqi counter-terrorism services and special forces from the regional guard also took part in the inspection, Iraq's top military spokesperson Yehia Rasool said in a tweet, noting that the international coalition aviation and air forces also supported the operation.

“This operation comes within the framework of coordination and joint action, which is supervised by the Joint Operations Command to purify the areas of joint security concern from the presence of terrorist ISIS groups,” he added. 

The operation follows a series of deadly ISIS attacks on the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga that led to a high-level security meeting between  military leaders from Iraq and the Region, and an agreement to ramp up cooperation in the disputed territories. Twenty-two Kurdish soldiers have been killed since November 27.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani discussed security and cooperation between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Erbil on Wednesday amid an increase in ISIS attacks, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).



PM Kadhimi departed for Makhmour following the meeting, where ISIS killed three civilians and ten Peshmerga fighters in an offensive on Thursday, according to his office.

ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but it remains a serious security threat, especially in areas where there is a security vacuum between Erbil and Baghdad. Efforts to form joint brigades in the disputed areas began earlier this year, but have stalled.

A number of ISIS militants attacked Dibis town in Kirkuk, killing two Iraqi soldiers on Tuesday night.

The terror group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack on Peshmerga in Kirkuk late on Sunday, killing four of them. The militant group also claimed responsibility for a Thursday attack on two villages in southwest Erbil near the disputed territory of Makhmour that left 10 Peshmerga fighters and three civilians dead.

The deadly ISIS offensives come as the United States prepares to withdraw its combat troops by the end of the year, as the coalition formally shifts its mission focus to advising and assisting Iraqi forces.

The US reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in their fight against terror in a letter received by premier Barzani on Tuesday.

Updated at 11:44 am