The Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (MoPA) on Sunday conducted a search operation against ISIS in the area of Mount Qarachukh near Makhmur and the plains of Kandenawa.
The MoPA said in a post on X that the operation’s aim was “to search for the remnants of ISIS terrorists and further maintain the security of the area.”
The @KRG_MOPE 18th Infantry Brigade conducted a search #operation in the area of Mount Karachukh and the plains of Kandenawa, in order to search for the remnants of ISIS terrorists and further maintain the #security of the area. pic.twitter.com/cRTSscwBRA
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) January 5, 2025
The operation was conducted in Sector Six of the Makhmur district, southeast of Mosul, an area under the command of Major General Sirwan Barzani.
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 MoPA Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, received a team of coalition advisors in the #Kurdistan Region, in a meeting how to train divisions and area commands within the framework of the reform process to reorganize the Kurdistan #Peshmerga forces were discussed. pic.twitter.com/asFTKTaH4x
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) January 6, 2025
The MoPA on Monday also announced that its Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Staff Major General Rebwar Ali Karim had received a team of coalition advisors in the Kurdistan Region, and participated in a meeting on how to train divisions and area commands within the framework of the reform process to reorganize the peshmerga forces.
A renewed non-binding memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. Department of Defense and the MoPA in 2022 committed to providing support to the peshmerga, but only if key reforms continue.
The MoPA also announced that Mohammed Ahmad Mustafa, a member of the 1st Battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the MoPA, was killed while performing his military duty due to a landmine explosion in the Kani Masi district.
Mohammed Ahmad Mustafa, a #Peshmerga from the MoPA 1st Battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade while performing his military duty. due to an old landmine #explosion in Kani Mase district ,was martyred. pic.twitter.com/c2R9e5LvMN
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) January 6, 2025
