Peshmerga Divisions "Hamper War Effort"

“The Americans wanted to create a unified, apolitical and professional [Kurdish] force as part of the Iraqi national army, but for this they needed the agreement of the officials of the PUK and the KDP,” explained Abdulrazaq Sharif, who attended the meetings between the Americans and PUK officials as a press officer. "The PUK and the KDP officials lost an important opportunity to be trained and armed by the US armed forces, which could have been very effective against the Daesh attack in August."

When IS attacked, peshmerga forces were overstretched on a long front line, from the Iranian border in the east to the Sinjar area near the Syrian and Turkish borders in the northwest. The PUK peshmerga were concentrated in Sulaimaniyah, areas of Kirkuk and parts of Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, while the KDP fighters defended the northern front in Erbil, Dahuk and parts of the Ninevah plains.

IS fighters managed to advance to within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Erbil, and it was only because of Iranian assistance on the ground and US air cover that the extremists were repelled.

One senior peshmerga official, frustrated with the lack of a unified command in the Kirkuk area, provided the following example of the lack of coordination between the two parties that led to the deaths of 11 peshmerga Nov. 24. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the KDP and an allied Iranian Kurdish group had attacked Kharabarut, west of Kirkuk, without informing the PUK, and unilaterally seized the area. When IS counterattacked, they withdrew from the area, but the PUK peshmerga advanced and were taken by surprise by the militants.