(AKI) - Iraq's minister for defence Abd al-Qadir al-Ubaydi has discussed the creation of two new platoons of Kurdish fighters or Peshmergas with the Kurdish regional government in a bid to boost Iraqi security. The Iraqi defence minister met the Kurdish minister for Peshmergas to discuss the plan, according to the website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.The ministers were joined by a delegation that included the head of the Iraqi army Babakr Zebari and the head of the multinational forces, Michael Barbero, and local officials responsible for local electricity distribution networks.
The website said the parties were considering the details for the creation of two new military platoons and the transformation of old Peshmerga forces in regional patrols, as sanctioned under the constitution. The site stressed that the parties had decided in their agreement to nominate representatives among them, who would carry out their decisions in a bid to build military cooperation.
In the Iraqi army, there are three Kurdish battalions in the autonomous region. In the last few years they have been stationed in various parts of Iraq including Baghdad, Mossul and Kirkuk, to promote security and protect petrol plants and electricity networks.