Iraqi security forces to fill security vacuum that harbors Islamic State

In an effort to curb growing Islamic State activity in security gaps along the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal Iraqi government are establishing Joint Coordination Centers.
Members of Iraqi security forces close access to the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, on April 25, 2021, after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe COVID-19 cases.
Members of Iraqi security forces close access to the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, on April 25, 2021, after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe COVID-19 cases. - AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
Joe Snell
Joe Snell
@joesnell03

In a small stretch of land in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province, Islamic State remnants have taken advantage of a roughly 20-kilometer (12-mile) gap on the line between the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq and federal Iraq. 

The gap is one of several spaces between the Iraqi and Peshmerga front line positions, especially from Kirkuk going south. With no barracks, houses, running water or electricity and amid a politically charged land dispute, both security forces have been reluctant to fill the void. IS has used the vacuum to take shelter and coordinate attacks.

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