- Title: Pesherga forces will not enter Mosul, Kurdistan regional president
- Date: 27th October 2016
- Summary: ZARTAC MOUNTAIN, NEAR NINEVEH, IRAQ (OCTOBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) PRESIDENT OF THE IRAQI KURDISH REGION, MASSOUD BARZANI, WALKING TOWARDS PODIUM BARZANI AT THE PODIUM WITH PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, A COALITION OF SHI'ITE POLITICAL GROUPS, AMMAR HAKIM OFFICIALS / SECURITY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PRESIDENT OF THE IRAQI KURDISH REGION, MASSOUD BARZANI, SAYING: "The Peshmerga will not enter the city of Mosul. What Daesh did in Kirkuk was only to cover for its failures and defeat in this battle. We were able to control the situation quickly and kill the terrorists." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PRESIDENT OF THE IRAQI KURDISH REGION, MASSOUD BARZANI, SAYING: "We have to be ready for all scenarios. The terrorists will surely do their best to take advantage of any point of weakness to show off their strength. But they are near to collapse." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, AMMAR AL-HAKIM, SAYING: "This (Turkish) base, and the forces that came to the base, were present without coordination with the Iraqi government. They are armed forces, and we strongly refuse the participation of any non-Iraqi fighter in this battle." END OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 11th November 2016 13:47
- Keywords: Iraq Mosul Peshmerga Islamic State Massoud Barzani Ammar Hakim
- Location: NEAR NINEVEH, IRAQ
- City: NEAR NINEVEH, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00155S7NT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The president of the Iraqi Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani said on Thursday (October 27) that Peshmerga forces would not enter Mosul in effort to recapture the city from Islamic State and described IS attack on Kirkuk as an act of desperation.
Speaking at a news conference in Zartac mountain, near Nineveh, Barzani said: "The Peshmerga will not enter the city of Mosul. What Daesh did in Kirkuk was only to cover for its failures and defeat in this battle. We were able to control the situation quickly and kill the terrorists."
At least 100 fighters sneaked into Kirkuk in the early hours of Friday (October 21) with machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, suicide vests.
By the time they had blasted their way across the city in a brazen and complex attack, 99 civilians and members of the security forces were dead as well as 63 of their own fighters, according to Iraqi security officials.
"We have to be ready for all scenarios. The terrorists will surely do their best to take advantage any point of weakness to show off their strength. But they are near to collapse," said Barzani.
At the news conference, influential Shi'ite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, president of the National Alliance, a coalition of the main Shi'ite political groups, added a Turkish base present in Bashiqa was not welcome.
Turkey and Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated central government are at loggerheads over the presence - unauthorised by Baghdad - of Turkish troops at a camp in northern Iraq. Ankara fears that Shi'ite militias, which have been accused of abuses against Sunni civilians elsewhere, will be used in the Mosul offensive.
"This (Turkish) base, and the forces that came to the base, were present without coordination with the Iraqi government. They are armed forces, and we strongly refuse the participation of any non-Iraqi fighter in this battle," al-Hakim said.
U.S. President Barack Obama told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Wednesday that he welcomed continued talks between Iraq and Turkey to seek agreement on Ankara's participation in the drive against Islamic State, the White House said.
Both leaders affirmed their support for Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the White House said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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