Kurdish official calls for establishing third joint military brigade with federal forces

In significant security developments, Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed called on Tuesday for the formation of a third joint military brigade between the Peshmerga forces and the federal forces to enhance security in disputed areas and close security gaps exploited by ISIS movements. Ahmed emphasized that the two previously formed joint brigades are no longer sufficient to cover those areas, pointing out the continued movements of organization elements in security vacuum zones between the deployment sites of federal forces and Peshmerga forces, which requires increasing the number of joint forces and enhancing field and intelligence coordination between Baghdad and Erbil. He stressed the necessity of raising the level of security readiness and exchanging intelligence information to confront potential threats, especially in light of the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq. In a different context, Ahmed noted the continued exposure of the Kurdistan Region to drone and missile attacks, affirming the region's adherence to its position rejecting involvement in regional conflicts and calling on all parties to respect this position, while the region continues to provide a safe haven for seekers of security.