6 Feb 2021
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has deployed Peshmerga forces to northern Iraq to combat “increased threats” of attacks by Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported on Thursday.
The Peshmerga are the military forces of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. They have recently been deployed to Makhmour and Qarachogh, areas located within the Kurdistan region’s Erbil Governorate, to combat a renewed ISIS security threat “and not to face off with Iraqi forces,” the Ministry of Peshmerga clarified in a statement on Wednesday.
“We announce that no illegal deployment of the Peshmerga forces has been made to face Iraqi forces,” a statement from the ministry read, adding, “What happened was as a result of a recent increase of ISIS threats in the Mount Qarachogh and Makhmour areas.”