Shafaq News/ The Ministry of Peshmerga announced that it had reached an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to form two joint brigades from the army and the Peshmerga.

"The decision to form two joint brigades between the army and the Peshmerga came after a security delegation visited Erbil recently, to discuss the issue of forming joint forces," Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga forces, Lieutenant-General Jamal Amenki, told Shafaq News Agency.

Amenki explained, "The decision was taken by the two parties, provided that practical steps will be taken to implement the decision in the coming days to fill the security gaps in the areas separating the Iraqi and the Peshmerga forces from Khanaqin to the west of the Tigris river."

The Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga forces concluded his speech by noting that the six joint coordination centers between the two parties are continuing their tasks without any obstacles."

Last year, Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement to form four joint coordination centers to exchange information and fight ISIS remnants in the disputed areas.

The gaps were formed as a result of the tension between the army and the Peshmerga in the wake of the independence referendum in 2017.