Iraqi tribal volunteers secure strategic area of Mosul

By Mohamed Walid

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - The Hashd al-Ashaeri, an Iraqi fighting force comprised of pro-government Sunni tribal volunteers, secured an area north of Mosul on Friday following the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, according to an Iraqi commander.

“A Hashd al-Ashaeri contingent operating within the Iraqi army's 15th Division has assumed responsibility for security in the Wana sub-district 30 kilometers north of the city of Mosul,” 15th Division Commander Mahmoud al-Warshan told Anadolu Agency.

“Tribal fighters were deployed to the area, which is strategically located near the Mosul Dam,” al-Warshan said.

“Local police remain in the area, which is inhabited mainly by Arabs,” he added.

Earlier this week, Iraqi forces seized control of all parts of the country disputed between the central government and Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), including oil-rich Kirkuk.

Peshmerga forces took control of these areas shortly after the Daesh terrorist group overran vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in mid-2014.

Tension has steadily mounted between Baghdad and the KRG since Sept. 25, when Iraqis in KRG-controlled areas -- and in certain disputed parts of the country -- voted on whether to declare independence from the Iraqi state.

According to poll results later announced by the KRG, almost 93 percent of those who cast ballots voted in favor of independence.

The illegitimate referendum faced sharp opposition from most regional and international actors (including the U.S., Turkey and Iran), who had warned that the poll would distract from Iraq’s fight against terrorism and further destabilize the region.