US CENTCOM Chief Meets Iraqi Kurdistan Presiden

(FNA)- Commander of the US Central Command Gen. Lloyd J. Austin met with head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Massoud Barzani to discuss deployment of American commando and Black Ops teams in the Kurdistan region.

A source in the Iraqi Kurdistan region who asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of the revelation said the KRG President and the US CENTCOM commander also discussed a number of other issues, but declined to reveal any other detail about discussions and agreements in the meeting.

Iraq's Kurdistan region has been serving as a regional station for US, Israeli and British special operations teams, where French weapons have also been stored in large depots.

The source in Kurdistan said Barzani, who is nearing his second term in office and should legally give way to another politician, is seeking to win Washington's support for changing the law to continue his rule by granting major privileges, including establishment of more US and Israeli bases and stations in Kurdistan.

But, officials in Baghdad voiced concern over the meeting, saying visits by senior US officials and Israeli diplomats to the Kurdistan region reciprocated by Kurdish delegations' visit to the United States together with US Vice-President Joe Biden's support for Barzani's independence plans are alarming.