Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Masoud Barzani, president of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, have discussed an upcoming military campaign to retake the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-held city of Mosul.
โDiscussions held with President Barzani today [Sept. 29] tackled the upcoming campaign to retake Mosul and how to overcome common security and economic challenges,โ al-Abadi was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency at a joint press conference in Baghdad with the KRG leader on Sept. 29.
โThe federal government [of Iraq] supports the political, security and economic stability of the Kurdistan region,โ the prime minister asserted.
โBut there are some issues that have not been resolved since [the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in] 2003,โ he added.
โWe discussed those issues today with a view to shouldering our responsibility to provide all Iraqis with a decent life, including residents of the [Kurdish] region,โ he said.
โWe have reached the final stages of planning the liberation of Mosul,โ al-Abadi went on. โCoordination is ongoing between army commanders in Baghdad, military leaders in Kurdistan and the international coalition.โ
Barzani, for his part, stressed: โOur priority is to defeat terrorism and cleanse Iraq of the Daesh terrorist group,โ using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
โWe have held talks with Prime Minister al-Abadi and have agreed on many issues,โ he said. โThere has been positive coordination between the federal government [in Baghdad] and the KRG regarding the Mosul campaign.โ
Barzani added: โOur relations with Baghdad – now and in [the] future – must be based on mutual understanding.โ
The KRG president arrived in Baghdad on Sept. 29 in his first visit to the Iraqi capital in three years.
In mid-2014, ISIL captured Mosul – Iraqโs second largest city – along with vast swathes of territory in the countryโs northern and western regions.
Recent months have seen the Iraqi army – backed by a coalition led by the U.S. – retake much territory from the jihadist group. Nevertheless, ISIL remains in control of several parts of the country, including Mosul.
Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have recently captured a number of areas on the outskirts of Mosul, which Iraqi officials have vowed to recapture by yearโs end.
