Did Peshmerga enter Diyala?
Shafaq News / Wasfi al-Tamimi, mayor of the Qara Tabah district, (115 km to north-east of Baqubah), stated that the Peshmerga forces did not enter the Diyala border and that they were stationed at Jalula - Kalar borders.
Al-Tamimi told Shafaq news agency that “Peshmerga forces are stationed in "Kulejo" and "Kehriz" to secure the area and track down remaining ISIS members.
Al-Tamimi indicated that the parts of the ninth division of the Iraqi army in the vicinity of the two districts of Qara Tabah and Jibara will be redeployed. In addition, the security units belonging to the 20th brigade will move from the North of Jibara to the vicinity of Qarah Tabah and will be replaced by parts in Jalula.
This clarification came after spreading news about an agreement between the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and the Peshmerga to deploy Peshmerga forces in the unsecured disputed zones from the vicinity of Diyala to Nineveh.
Ministry of Defense and the Peshmerga are conducting consultations to reactivate coordination in disputed areas in order to contain the threat of ISIS.
Peshmerga forces withdrew from the disputed areas after the increasing tension with the Iraqi forces, after the independence referendum in 2017.
The withdrawal came three years after the Peshmerga deployment in those regions. They replaced the Iraqi army who fled from ISIS in 2014, preventing the area from falling in the hands of the organization.
Earlier, the area had been secured in coordination, as it was a disputed area.
Since the Peshmerga withdrawal, the frequency of attacks has increased, as ISIS launches brutal attacks on civilian and military targets, causing casualties.