By John Lee. The head of the KRG Committee to Respond to International Reports, Dindar Zebari (pictured), has said that the KRG rejects all accusations made about Peshmerga forces by Amnesty International. He told K24: “The Peshmerga have liberated large swaths of territory from Daesh [IS] and have helped civilians regardless of their ethnic and […]
By John Lee. A report this morning from Amnesty International claims that Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdish militias in northern Iraq have bulldozed, blown up and burned down thousands of homes in Arab villages. It says that although KRG officials have tended to justify the displacement of Arab communities on […]
‘If this financial crisis continues, it will have a great effect on the front lines. You cannot send your fighters with empty stomachs to the fight,’ Dr Fuad Hussein told a group of journalists from American media outlets on Friday morning. He added, ‘We need support and help. We are [in Washington] to explain this […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. It's been two months since Kurdish fighters recaptured the town of Sinjar from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But for the ethnic Yazidis driven out in 2014, the possibility […]
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday received Mr. Marco Carnelos, Italy's ambassador to Iraq, accompanied by a diplomatic and military delegation. Mr. Marco Carnelos reiterated his country’s commitment to continue providing military and humanitarian aid to the Kurdistan Region. He commended the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Region for their role in defending all the citizens […]
By Mona Alami for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Islamic State’s control over large swaths of land in Iraq and Syria is slowly diminishing, as it is being aggressively pummeled by local and international forces, such as Kurdish and Iraqi […]
By Simon Kent. Iraqi Shi'a paramilitary group Kata'ib Hezbollah, or "Hezbollah Brigades" have threatened Turkish troops and Turkish interests in Iraq over the recent deployment of the Turkish army in Kurdish areas. Due to the location of Turkish troops however, the militant group is currently unable to target the Turkish army. Last week it was […]
By Simon Kent. Kurdish Peshmerga forces in newly liberated Sinjar, the Yazidi majority town en route to Mosul, have discovered an ISIS tunnel complex of fighting positions. The Wall Street Journal has documented the find in a photo essay report. Tunnel complexes have previously been used by ISIS in the battle of Jurf al Sakhar last year, […]
By Simon Kent. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have secured 10 villages around the town of Daquq, located not far from the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. In the operation--supported by Coalition aircraft--the forces lost 13 men to enemy action, including roadside bombs and "explosive rigged cars." It is another sign that, when supported by air strikes, […]
By Simon Kent. The German Federal Intelligence Service, or BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) has confirmed from laboratory tests that ISIS has used chemical weapons against Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. The German paper Bild reported that the conclusion was made after taking blood samples from injured Kurdish fighters, reporting that the gas used was sulpher mustard, more commonly known […]
By Brenda Stoter for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. When Hemin Zangana was sent to the front line in August 2014, he and his fellow peshmerga fighters were determined to recapture the Mosul Dam from the Islamic State. They told each other they would […]
By Adam Lucente for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The military conflict between the peshmerga and the Islamic State has run hot since 2014 but is currently at somewhat of a standstill. The fighting is less frequent and intense than in prior months […]
