Peshmerga denies drone downing by Iraqi army in Mosul
Islamic State’s drone.
“News circulated over downing of Peshmerga’s drone by Iraqi army are untrue,” Brig.Gen. Bahjat Taimes, Peshmerga commander in Mosul, told AlSumaria News on Thursday.
“No similar accidents occurred in this or any others axis for a simple reasons that Peshmerga does not own that kind of jets,” Taimes said urging media to be accurate.
Earlier on the day, news reports said Iraqi army managed to down a surveillance jet of Peshmerga in southeast of Mosul.
A security source told Shafaq News that the army’s 76 brigade downed the drone in al-Salamiyah village in Nimrud.
The Kurdistan Region’s Security Council announced on Wednesday receiving threats that Iraqi joint troops are preparing for a major attack on Kurdistan from southwest Kirkuk and north of Mosul, which was dismissed by Peshmerga later.
During a briefing on Tuesday, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, reiterated calls on Peshmerga fighters not to clash with government forces once they take over the responsibility of security at areas where both governments dispute sovereignty. The Iraqi parliament had ordered the government to retake control over security at those areas, most notably oil-rich Kirkuk.