President Masoud Barzani Receives Senior Coalition Delegation to Discuss Peshmerga Reforms, Security Challenges

President Masoud Barzani President of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Wednesday received Brigadier Richard Bell, the Deputy Commanding General of the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, and his accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, Barzani and Bell emphasized on the importance of unification of the Peshmerga forces and implementation of the reform plan at the Ministry of Peshmerga forces.

Brigadier Bell noted that the reforms are of significant importance for the Global Coalition, according to the readout of the meeting published by the Barzani Headquarters.

“A privilege to meet with Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Former President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where we discussed regional security issues including the Defeat Daesh mission,” the British commander wrote on Twitter, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State or IS.

The two sides also discussed the establishment of the Joint Cooperation Centers between Erbil and Baghdad as well as the ongoing efforts to form a joint force between Peshmerga and Iraqi Army, emphasizing that the move could remarkably help the security and stability in the disputed areas.

Brigadier Richard Bell also delivered condolences over the killing of six Peshmerga soldiers by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) recently in Matin Mountain and near Zakho, the readout added.