Peshmerga to join Iraqi army

BAQUBA, Iraq, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Kurdish Peshmerga forces will leave restive Diyala province in 10 days and incorporate into the Iraqi national military, Kurdish officials said Monday.

A Peshmerga brigade had been dispatched to the predominately Kurdish northern portions of Diyala province to take on Shiite militias alongside Iraqi military forces.

Questions over jurisdiction threatened to pit the two military forces against each other last week, but Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman Falah Mustafa Bakir told The Media Line that Kurdish officials wanted to incorporate the force into the Iraqi military.

Iraqi defense officials confirmed the statement, saying a Peshmerga brigade would join forces with an Iraqi army division in northern Iraq Aug. 25.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry last week ordered Peshmerga forces out of northern areas in Diyala province, while Peshmerga commanders said the matter was a decision for Kurdish officials to decide.