ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday received the commander of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Erbil, discussing the groups “activities and dangers to regional peace,” according to the Kurdish presidency.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency said in a statement that the meeting between President Barzani and Major General Kevin Leahy “covered the security situation in Iraq and Syria, focusing on the activities and dangers to regional peace and stability posed by the terrorist organization ISIS. Both sides emphasized the necessity of collaborative efforts between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, alongside the International Coalition, to combat terrorism and the ISIS threat.”
President Barzani earlier in the day inaugurated the third and fourth infantry divisions of the Peshmerga forces under the Peshmerga ministry as a part of an ongoing unification process.
The coalition commander and the Kurdish leader “shared perspectives on the recent developments in the reform process within the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and efforts toward the reunification of the Peshmerga,” added the statement. Both sides said the move was a “significant advancement.”
On Thursday, Abdulkhaliq Babiri, undersecretary of the Peshmerga ministry, told Rudaw that the unification process of the Peshmerga forces could be completed before 2026.
When ISIS seized swathes of Iraqi land in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance to defeat ISIS territorially, which was completed in 2017.
Barzani and Leahy also discussed the latest developments in Syria and their impact on neighboring countries.
