The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs on Thursday posted on X that its 18th Infantry Brigade had conducted an extensive search operation in the slopes of Mount Qarachukh near Makhmur, “especially in areas suspected of being terrorist hideouts.”

The peshmerga operation was carried out in Sector Six in the Makhmur district, southeast of Mosul.

Read More: Peshmerga and Iraqi Army Carry Out Anti-ISIS Operation

A security vacuum was created in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil in October 2017 after Iraqi forces and the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces pushed peshmerga forces out of the disputed territories after the Kurdistan Region’s September 2017 independence referendum. 

This vacuum has been exploited by ISIS militants, who use the area as a safe haven and a base from which to stage attacks. 

The @KRG_MOPE 18th Infantry Brigade conducted an extensive search #operation in the slopes of Mount Karachugh, especially in areas suspected of terrorist hideouts. pic.twitter.com/NjwXiSxOIn

— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) November 14, 2024

In recent years Kurdish peshmerga forces have carried out several joint operations with the Iraqi security forces against ISIS cells in these areas.

According to the Pentagon’s latest quarterly inspector general report to the U.S. Congress published on October 29, the Iraqi Army and peshmerga forces have been working toward creating joint brigades in these areas to close security gaps.

The report said that more than 1,000 Kurdish peshmerga soldiers, mostly new recruits, had completed six weeks of Iraqi army-led basic training to support the creation of two joint brigades.

Moreover, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs reflagged the 20th Regional Guard Brigade as the 2nd Joint Brigade, which will operate under the Iraqi army command.

So far, the first two joint brigades are being equipped using U.S.-led coalition funds, with the formation of four more joint brigades under way.