Iraq, Turkey should coordinate on Mosul: Ex-army chief

By Idris Okuducu

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) – Retaking Iraq’s Daesh-held city of Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group will be much easier if the campaign is coordinated between Baghdad and Ankara, a former Iraqi army chief-of-staff told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

According to Babaker Zebari, Iraq-Turkey relations should be "reconsidered" – especially in light of the threat posed to both countries by Daesh.

"Even if the Hashd al-Shaabi [an umbrella group of pro-government Shia militias] participates in the upcoming campaign to liberate Mosul, it will be unable to operate in areas now controlled by peshmerga forces," said Zebari.

"But the participation of fighters from the PKK [terrorist group] would pose an even greater threat to the operation’s progress," Zebari added.

The former army commander warned of the potential for conflict between Shia militiamen and Kurdish peshmerga forces once Daesh is expelled from the region.

He went on to assert that Iraq’s military had been weakened due to "erroneous policies" being pursued by officials in Baghdad.

In mid-2014, Daesh captured Mosul in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, along with vast swathes of territory in the country’s northern and western regions.

While recent months have seen the Iraqi army and its allies retake much territory, the terrorist group remains in firm control of Mosul, which Iraqi officials have vowed to recapture by year’s end.