US, Kurdistan sign protocol on military cooperation

The US Department of Defence and Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) yesterday signed a protocol on military cooperation.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin and KRG Interior Minister Karim Sinjari inked the deal in Erbil in the presence of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani.

Under the deal, Washington pledged to offer political, military and financial aid to the Peshmerga forces until the end of the war on Daesh.

KRG spokesman Umit Sabah told reporters “the main objective of the meeting was to boost cooperation between the KRG and US-led coalition forces.”

“The protocol outlines the military roles to be played by the various parties that have lined up against Daesh, with an emphasis on the upcoming liberation of Mosul,” Sabah said.

He explained that the protocol was the product of two years of discussions between the KRG and US-led coalition forces.

Iraqi forces are preparing to start a broad military operation to regain control of the city of Mosul from Daesh. The militant group captured Mosul in June 2014.