"The governments of Iraq and Kurdistan Region have reached a deal on the presence of Peshmerga in the joint operations room in Kirkuk, which includes security formations of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi, in addition to the Peshmerga,” Muhammad Mahdi Al-Bayati told Shafaq News agency.

The member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Harim Agha, stated that "the Peshmerga are an important part of the Iraqi security system and plays a role in the security of the common areas", adding that, "there are no legal or constitutional impediments to its presence in the disputed areas, for the article 140 of the constitution is not implemented yet".

It is noteworthy that the Peshmerga and local security forces "Asayish", withdrew from the disputed areas after the Iraqi forces and Al-Hashd launched a military operation in October 2017, after Kurdistan Region conducted an independence referendum on September 25 of the same year.

Since that withdrawal, IS has intensified its attacks on unsecured areas in the Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces, taking advantage of the security void previously occupied by the Peshmerga forces.

Reporter’s code: 50101