- ISIS (Da’esh) launched a new wave of attacks in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” last week. On Wednesday, Da’esh terrorists attacked a Peshmerga base in Daka village, which is southwest of Khanaqin. Three Peshmerga were killed in the attack and two were wounded. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) responded to the recent string of attacks by deploying additional troops and heavy weapons to the region. That said, an IED explosion killed a police officer in Kirkuk city’s Panja Ali neighborhood on Friday. Meanwhile, Kirkuk’s security forces announced the arrest of a senior Dae’sh operative named Hamid Shaker. Shaker, also known as Abu Khaldun, was a military amir of Salah ad Din Governorate who managed Da’esh intelligence operations and had planned several recent terror operations. Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” have been plagued by a deteriorating security situation since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias seized control and removed the Peshmerga from the region on October 16, 2017.
- Following an agreement between the KRG and Government of Iraq on the Kurdistan Region’s allocated budget for 2020, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani said the cabinet is “seeking to conclude a comprehensive agreement with the federal government that is in everyone’s interest.” The acting federal administration of Baghdad will now send the KRG agreement and the rest of the government’s budget request to the Council of Representatives of Iraq for approval.
- More via www.mesop.de