Peshmerga hand over security in disputed parts of Iraq

By Ahmed Qassem, Mohamed Waleed and Sarhad Shakir

NINEVEH, Iraq

Peshmerga forces loyal to northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) have entirely withdrawn from parts of Nineveh province after handing over security responsibility to Iraqi security personnel, military sources say.

“Peshmerga units have entirely withdrawn from the Mosul Dam and handed over security responsibility to the Iraqi army,” Hassanein Ali, an Iraqi army officer, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Along with the Mosul Dam (located 40 kilometers north of Mosul on the Tigris River), Peshmerga fighters have also withdrawn from the Rabia area near the border with Syria, the town of Zummar in Nineveh province, and the Makhmour district in Erbil province, according to the army officer.

“The Iraqi army now enjoys full security powers at the dam and in all surrounding areas,” Ali said, noting that the army had also deployed troops to the Flefil and Faida districts on Mosul’s northern outskirts.

According to Hamid Daham, a major in the army’s 16th Division, Iraqi army officers had held a series of meetings with Peshmerga officials during which they agreed on exact mechanisms for the withdrawals.

Earlier this week, Iraqi joint forces -- including army troops, Federal Police units and Hashd al-Shaabi fighters -- entered the oil-rich Kirkuk province following a tactical withdrawal by Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi forces swiftly assumed control of the province’s strategic facilities, including the North Oil Company, the Baba Gurgur oilfield, the K1 military base, the Mullah Abdullah oil refinery, Kirkuk’s main airport and the Tikrit Bridge, among others.

In a related development Thursday, Iraq’s Interior Ministry denied reports that Iraqi forces had since withdrawn from Kirkuk and Diyala, leaving both provinces to Kurdish Peshmerga forces.