US Envoy Praises Peshmerga-Iraqi Army Teamwork in Battle for Mosul

US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh Brett McGurk commended the collaboration between Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the campaign to retake Mosul, the US Department of State said in a release on Wednesday after McGurk met with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US special envoy traveled to the eastern axis of the Mosul offensive, where he met with members of the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi Army to review progress in the operation, according to the release.

"He [McGurk] praised the performance and sacrifices of the Kurdish Peshmerga, and welcomed the unprecedented cooperation between Peshmerga and Iraqi Security Forces in the ongoing Mosul operation," the release stated.

McGurk also encouraged all Kurdish political parties to settle their differences and maintain the necessary unity that is "essential for a strong and flourishing Iraqi Kurdistan Region."

During the eighth day of his visit to Iraq, McGurk met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other senior government officials.

The Kurdish Peshmerga forces are participating in the operation to retake Iraq's second largest city of Mosul from Daesh in an operation led by the Iraqi armed forces.

Daesh, a terror group outlawed in Russia and numerous other states, took control of Mosul in 2014.