Shafaq News- Erbil

Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed on Tuesday called for a third joint Iraqi Army-Peshmerga brigade to address security gaps in disputed areas, warning that the two existing formations are “insufficient” to counter ISIS activity.

Speaking to reporters, Ahmed pointed to areas beyond the effective control of either federal or Peshmerga forces, which ISIS militants continue to exploit. He also urged Baghdad and Erbil to strengthen security coordination, intelligence sharing, and readiness following the Global Coalition’s withdrawal from Iraq.

Read more: Kurdistan Region faces air-defense gap as US troops leave Iraq

The security gaps stretch across disputed areas from the Syrian border through Nineveh, Saladin, and Kirkuk to Diyala near Iran, allowing ISIS remnants to move through areas with limited military presence.

In 2021, Baghdad and Erbil agreed to form two mixed brigades as part of a broader arrangement involving joint checkpoints, counterterrorism operations, and intelligence sharing. Funding shortages and logistical obstacles delayed implementation for roughly two years, but by May 2024, preparations were underway to deploy a joint force estimated at 7,000 personnel, with units already beginning to secure areas in Diyala and Kirkuk.

Security concerns persist along the Kirkuk-Kurdistan Region boundary. In July, the Kirkuk Provincial Council’s Security and Defense Committee told Shafaq News that insufficient coverage continued to facilitate ISIS movements, while Kirkuk Operations Command identified gaps between federal and Peshmerga deployment areas, with some sections spanning about seven kilometers in September.

Despite losing territorial control in Iraq in 2017, ISIS remains active as an insurgent network in remote desert and rural areas, particularly in Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar provinces.

Read more: ISIS hits Iraqi night surveillance twice in 24 hours in Kirkuk's Hawija