Kurdistan's peshmerga military forces on high alert
Although high-level officials in the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces Command denying the reports published by some Iraqi media about Peshmerga forces being surrounded by the Iraqi army in Jalaula, local sources and Iraqi officials say Kurdish Forces have withdrawn from Khanqin.
In recent days, tensions on high rise between Kurdistan Army and Iraqi Army in Diyala province. In order to mintor the situation closely, on Tuesday Mahmoud Sangawi, representative of the Iraqi President in the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces Command and the Deputy Peshmerga Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Major General Anwar Haj Othman visited Khanaqin.
Khanaqin and the other areas linked to Diyala, which mostly populated by Kurds, were also subject to Saddam's Arabization plan and now are part of the areas included in the implementation of article 140. Iraqi defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier Muhammad Askari also confirmed today that commanders of Kurdish Peshmerga forces have agreed to withdraw the Peshmerga forces from Khanqin as the first step to withdraw from the other areas of Diyala province, in order to be replaced by the Iraqi security forces.
Askari told the some local Iraqi news agencies that "constitution says Kurdish Peshmerga forces should remain only within the border of Kurdistan region; therefore, Khanqin and the other areas belong to Diyala province, should come under the control of the Iraqi forces." Tensions rose on Monday between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces after Iraqi forces gave Kurdish forces 24 hours to leave Qara Tapa area, a call refused by the Kurdish forces leaders and prospects of the first possible clashes between the two forces raised.
Peshmerga have been responsible for protecting the areas from the terrorists for more than five years, as the Iraqi forces were nascent and barely could control the other parts of Iraq. Some 20000 Kurdish forces also controlling some areas of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
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