According to the Awina news site, Iraqi President Barham Salih posted a message on his Twitter account in response to the continuing ISIS attacks in the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad, and in particular the recent attack by the group in Makhmour that killed 10 Peshmerga forces and three civilians, including a child.

Salih, also a senior member of the leadership council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the ISIS's attacks on Peshmerga positions in Makhmur are a dangerous event and that it is an urgent task to counter them.

He added that strengthening coordination between the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces is necessary to eradicate terrorism and ensure security in the region.

In the past two weeks, ISIS has carried out several attacks in the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad, killing and wounding at least 30 Peshmerga forces.

The Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, Jabar Yawar said on Saturday, December 4, that Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) cannot fill the security vacuum existing in the disputed areas because of the diversity of the forces and lack of information on the geography of the areas.

Yawar told Voice of America (VOA) the ministry is making efforts to conduct joint military operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) in cooperation with the ISF in those areas because "Kurdistani forces” were previously there until 2017.

Earlier on Saturday, a delegation from the Peshmerga Ministry visited the office of Joint Operations Command for security talks and to develop new plans to confront terrorist attacks.

During the talks, the officials agreed on intelligence work and increasing cooperation between their forces, according to a statement released by Joint Operations Command on Saturday evening. Yawar also told NRT that commanders will prepare plans starting on Sunday to carry out joint operations against ISIS.

Yawar had earlier announced that ISIS had carried out 206 attacks in these areas in the past 10 months of the 2021.

On June 2, four joint operations centers between the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga began work in Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Makhmour and Nineveh’s Shela.

Over the past few days, Peshmerga forces have been subjected to more than one attack in separate areas, the last of which was in the Qarachogh area in Makhmur, where seven Peshmerga and three civilians were killed on Friday.

In December, 2017, federal security forces, in cooperation with Peshmerga and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and aided by Coalition airstrikes, declared victory over ISIS. Since then, the militant group has resorted to guerrilla hit-and-run tactics, but remains a potent threat in some parts of the country.

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