Peshmerga Chief of Staff: al-Kadhimi's visit to Makhmour was fruitful

Shafaq News/ Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga Jamal Amenki confirmed PM Mustafa a-Kadhimi's visit to Makhmour was fruitful.

Amenki told Shafaq News Agency that al-Kadhimi and the security leaders' visit to Makhmour district and Khidir Jija village, was a message of reassurance to the people that cooperation between the army and the Peshmerga will be enhanced to protect the disputed areas.

He pointed out that work is ongoing to form the two joint brigades from the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga, noting that currently, there is high coordination between the two parties especially after opening six coordination centers in Erbil, Baghdad, Khanaqin, Kirkuk, Makhmour, and west of Tigris river, in addition to the joint military operations carried out recently.

Amenki stressed that the Kurdistan Region is looking forward to further coordination between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi arrived in Basra earlier today.

In a statement, Al-Kadhimi's office said that the latter arrived in Basra after visiting Makhmour district and inspecting the security situation there.

Al-Kadhimi's visit comes a day after four people were killed and four others were injured in an explosion in Basra.

a security source accused Basra's "death squads" of orchestrating and executing the bomb attack that took place in Basra yesterday.

"Death squads" were behind so many of the killings, abductions, and torture of protesters, activists, and journalists during the demonstrations that took over the country in 2019.

The source said that the bomb used in today's attack was a five kilograms funnel-shaped explosive rigged to a motorcycle parked on the roadside.

"The blast was sought to target a chief inspector investigating the case of the death squads in Basra," the source said, "the inspector survived the attack, but four victims perished, and others were wounded."

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, which sent a column of black smoke into the sky. Local news reports initially reported a car bomb, but a source told Shafaq News Agency that a motorcycle had exploded.

It was not immediately clear whether a bomb had been rigged to the motorcycle or if it was a suicide bombing.

The Security Media Cell (SMC) confirmed that the blast resulted from a booby-trapped motorcycle.

Explosions have been rare in Basra in recent years, particularly since the defeat of the Sunni militant Islamic State group in 2017.

The oil-rich Basra is predominantly Shiite. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. There was no immediate comment from Iraqi officials in Baghdad.