Joint forces to secure elections in Kirkuk

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: A joint force of Iraqi and U.S. personnel, as well as Kurdish Peshmerga will secure the coming parliamentary elections but under U.S. troops command, chief of local police said at a press conference with commander of U.S. forces in the province. “The forces will secure regions around Kirkuk, mainly during elections and will be under U.S. troops command,” General Jamal Taher told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The forces have been formed according to a decision of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Prime Minister of Kurdistan region Barham Saleh and in coordination with U.S. forces and we held a joint meeting with Arab and Turkish sides who oppose this issue,” he added. SH (P)/SR 1