ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Peshmerga commanders on Monday expressed gratitude for the longstanding support of the United States in addressing security challenges, emphasizing the need for continued assistance as the Islamic State (ISIS) remains a persistent threat.
“We as the Peshmerga people, as the people of Kurdistan, are grateful to the US from the depth of our hearts,” said Sirwan Barzani, the Makhmour front commander of Peshmerga forces, during a press conference in Malaqara village, southwest of Erbil.
Barzani expressed gratitude to Spirit of America, a US non-governmental organization supporting American military personnel and diplomats, for providing surveillance cameras to Peshmerga forces to enhance security.
Barzani emphasized the importance of the support of the US-led coalition for the Kurdistan Region.
“We as the Peshmerga forces, as any army, always need support, especially of our allies and especially the US, who has not been negligent until now, but we need much more [support],” emphasizing that “ISIS movements continue.”
This comes a day after two commanders and an officer of the joint Iraqi-Kurdish security forces were killed, with three soldiers wounded when an IED planted by ISIS exploded on a joint Iraqi-Kurdish patrol in Salahaddin province’s Tuz Khurmatu, located about 65 kilometers south of Kirkuk city.
When ISIS seized swathes of Iraqi land in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance to defeat ISIS territorially in 2017.
The United States has provided the Peshmerga with several rounds of military aid over the years.
“The reorganization of the Peshmerga forces continues,” said Major General Hoshmand Haider, a representative of the Peshmerga ministry at the conference.
Despite efforts by Washington and several European countries, the Peshmerga remains a highly partisan force in organization and loyalty, split between the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
He assured that “by 2026, no [Peshmerga] force will be outside the Peshmerga ministry.”
Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the PUK and Unit 80 forces are controlled by the KDP. These two units make up the majority of the Peshmerga forces, amounting to over 100,000 troops.
Unification of the Peshmerga forces has been on the agenda of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for several years, and while some progress has been made and a number of brigades controlled by the PUK and the KDP have been added to the ministry, a lot of work remains to be done.
Haider detailed that the reorganization of divisions 5 and 6 is on the agenda of the ministry, noting that 6 divisions have been reorganized since last year.
Baghdad and Kurdish forces have formed joint brigades and launched joint operations against ISIS to secure disputed areas that are claimed by the federal government and the KRG.
The Iraqi constitution recognizes federal autonomy like the Kurdistan Region and its right to provide security with regional forces like the Peshmerga as part of the national defense apparatus.
