Shafaq News/ Brigadier General Abdul Khaliq Talat, the representative of the Kurdistan region in Joint Operations, announced the successful completion of all military and technical preparations for launching a joint plan between the federal defense and Peshmerga ministries.
Talat informed Shafaq News Agency that "all measures for the joint coordination plan have been finalized, and deployment locations for the 20th and 22nd Joint Coordination Brigades have been established in areas of mutual security interest. We are now awaiting the disbursement of salaries for these two brigades."
He added that the 20th and 22nd Joint Coordination Brigades would undergo a three-month training program before commencing operations to clear and secure security gaps between the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga in several provinces.
The Joint Coordination Agreement between the federal defense and Peshmerga ministries consists of four main provisions. The first outlines the establishment of Joint Coordination Centers, the second deals with holding security gaps between the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga territories, the third involves setting up shared checkpoint locations, and the fourth pertains to expanded operations in various sectors for sweeping areas, tracking down remaining ISIS threats, and exchanging security and intelligence information to combat terrorism.
Security gaps between Iraqi Army and Peshmerga forces present a significant challenge to the ongoing efforts to eliminate remaining ISIS elements in Iraq. These gaps extend from the Syrian border in the north, through Nineveh, Saladin, and Kirkuk, and reach the borders of Diyala along the Iranian border.