Shafaq News / Baghdad-based security expert who provide advise the Iraqi government Hisham al-Hashemi said on Tuesday that the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mustafa al-Kadhimi intends to engage Peshmerga forces in joint operations with the security forces against ISIS in the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad.

This came in a comment posted by Al Hashemi on his Facebook page about Al-Kadhimi's visit to the leadership of the advanced headquarters in Kirkuk.

The expert summarized the reasons for the visit with two points, one of which is "monitoring the progress of the operations that will be launched in the southwestern areas of Kirkuk in partnership with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the tribal fighters."

Al-Hashemi mentioned the second point to "taking a decision on joint operations between the federal forces and Peshmerga forces in the disputed areas, as those areas left a vacuum that ISIS filled."

Al-Kadhimi arrived earlier this morning in Kirkuk on his first visit to the province since he assumed the presidency of the federal government.

“Heroes of Iraq Operations, the second phase" started this morning to inspect the areas southwest of Kirkuk in the separating borders with the Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, an area of ​​738.5 square kilometers.

For his part, Secretary General of Peshmerga Ministry, Jabbar Yawar, confirmed to Shafaq News agency, Peshmerga’s readiness for any military operation in this regard.

Kurdish political officials and military leaders say that the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad have witnessed a marked security vacuum since the withdrawal of Peshmerga and Asaish forces from them after the events of October 16 of 2017 and the Iraqi forces being based in them.