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Peshmerga not involved in western Mosul battles: ministry

 Peshmerga not involved in western Mosul battles: ministry

Peshmerga forces. File photo.

Peshmerga forces. File photo.
Erbil (IraqiNews.com) Kurdistan’s army forces (Peshmerga) are not partaking in the Iraqi forces’ battle against Islamic State in western Mosul, its ministry has said.

Jabbar Yawar, secretary-general of the Peshmerga Ministry, told Bas News that the force maintains deployment at regions it had recaptured earlier from Islamic State militants. He added that no agreement had been made with the government in Baghdad regarding participation in western Mosul battles which, he said, are solely led by Iraqi forces.

Western-trained and armed Peshmerga forces had fought on the Iraqi government’s side in the operations in eastern Mosul which launched in October and ended with the retaking of the region late January. Iraqi troops, backed by an air and ground backing from a U.S.-led military coalition, began Sunday a new offensive to retake the western region, IS’s last major bastion in Iraq.

A controversy emerged after the launch of operations in October as Kurdish officials insisted to maintain areas recaptured by Peshmerga as Kurdish territory, while Baghdad reiterated that Kurdish troops were required to withdraw from those regions.

Kurdistan gained autonomous governance based on the 2005 constitution, but is still considered a part of Iraq. The region was created in 1970 based on an agreement with the Iraqi government, ending years of fierce fighting.

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