The Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee has stressed the need to fill the security vacuum in the areas located between the Iraqi federal forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga’s positions within the province of Kirkuk as soon as possible to prevent re-emergence of Islamic State militants in these areas. The committee also called on the security forces to declare the outcomes of the investigations into the Palkana village incidents and recent surge in burning accidents of agricultural crops in the area.
The call was announced in a news conference held by the chairman and members of the Security and Defense Committee on Saturday in Kirkuk attended by the commander of joint operations command and other security officials. The parliamentary delegation’s visit was aimed to prepare a report on the May 30 bombings, which rocked Kirkuk city.
Muhammad Raza, head of the committee, MP at the conference said their visit to Kirkuk came at the request of the Iraqi parliament speaker who tasked the committee to submit an extensive report on the recent security incidents in the province.
Muhammad Raza urged the federal government to deploy military reinforcements in areas located between the Peshmerga forces and the federal forces positions within the province to prevent reemergence of IS militants.
He also emphasized the need to activate the committees formed between the federal forces and Kurdish Peshmerga and raise coordination between both sides to the highest level in order to avoid the re-occurrence of such security incidents.
The visit came after multiple explosions rocked various parts of Kirkuk late on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 25 others.
In regard to the recent surge in fire incidents targeting crop fields in Kirkuk, the head of the security and defense committee said that these incidents are not limited to the province of Kirkuk as other Iraqi provinces are witnessing similar incidents, indicating that security departments are engaged in their investigations into the case.
Over the past few days, hundreds of acres of agricultural crop fields in Daquq and Dubz, mostly owned by Kurdish farmers, were set ablaze resulting in massive damages.
Meanwhile, Major General Sa’ad Harbiya, commander of the joint operations command said, "The security departments have launched investigations into the Kirkuk bombings and carried out a number of military operations targeting terrorists' hideouts and we were able to obtain preliminary information about the masterminds of the attacks."
"We have arranged a robust security plan to protect citizens during the Eid al-Fitr, including the redeployment of security units and the setting up in and around Kirkuk", he added.
