Iran, Iraq forces hold exercises near Iraqi Kurdistan - officials

Iranian and Iraqi forces conducted joint military exercises on Monday near the border with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, a Kurdish official said. The two states’ units “began exercises at 08:00 GMT with tanks and infantry only 250 meters from the border,” Shwan Abu Bakr, the Kurdish customs chief at the Bashmakh border post, was quoted as saying. “Iraqi forces are dressed in black,” he said, referring to the black uniforms of the country’s elite Counter Terrorism Service. The Iranian military on its website announced joint military exercises with units of the Iraqi army involving armor and artillery units as well as drones and other aircraft, AFP reports.