Global InformationPeshmerga information
| Peshmerga | |
|---|---|
| پێشمەرگه | |
 Flag of Kurdistan Region | |
| Motto | Ey Reqîb[1] |
| Founded | 1920s/1946 |
| Current form | 2003–present |
| Headquarters | Erbil, Kurdistan Region |
| Website | gov |
| Leadership | |
| President of Kurdistan Region | Nêçîrvan Barzanî |
| Minister of Peshmerga Affairs | Şoreş Îsmaîl Abdulla |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 21–41 |
| Conscription | None |
| Active personnel | 300,000 (disputed, see § Structure)[2] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers |  Republic of Iraq[3] |
| Foreign suppliers | Current:
Former:
|
| Related articles | |
| History | Before 2003:
After 2003:
|
The Peshmerga (Kurdish: پێشمەرگه Pêşmerge, transl. 'Those Who Face Death')[25] comprise the standing military of Kurdistan Region, an autonomous political entity within the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga and their security subsidiaries are solely responsible for the security of Kurdistan Region, chiefly due to the fact that the Iraqi Armed Forces are forbidden to enter Iraqi Kurdistan.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] These subsidiaries include Asayish (intelligence agency/security forces), Parastin û Zanyarî (assisting intelligence agency), and Zêrevanî (the gendarmerie). The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century, when they began as a strictly tribal pseudo-military border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.[33]
Formally, the Peshmerga are under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In practice, however, the Peshmerga's structure is largely divided and controlled separately by the two Iraqi Kurdish political parties: the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Though unifying and integrating the Peshmerga has been on the Kurdistan Region's public agenda since 1992, the individual forces remain divided due to factionalism, which has proved to be a major stumbling block.[34]
Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Peshmerga played a key role in helping the United States on the mission to capture deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[35][36] In 2004, they captured Saudi-born Pakistani terrorist Hassan Ghul, who was operating for al-Qaeda in Iraq. Ghul was turned over to American intelligence officers shortly afterwards, and revealed the identity of several key al-Qaeda figures during his interrogation, which eventually led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in a covert American military operation in Pakistan in 2011.[37][38][39] One year later, in 2012, Ghul was assassinated by an American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan.
- ^ "Hundreds of Christians join Peshmerga". Kurdistan24. February 19, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "The Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Access, Possibility of Protection, Security and Humanitarian Situation" (PDF). p. 41. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Iraq supplies Kurds with ammunition in unprecedented move, U.S. says". Reuters. August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Status of Western Military Aid to Kurdish Peshmerga Forces". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Pollard, Ruth (September 11, 2014). "Australian-supplied weapons have reached the Kurdish frontline". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Austria to provide Peshmerga with medical support". Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ^ "L'aide belge aux Peshmergas est prête à partir vers l'Irak". RTBF Info (in French). February 24, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "България е изпратила на кюрдите в Ирак автомати и патрони за 6 млн. лева". Mediapool.bg (in Bulgarian). September 30, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Cyprus could send more light arms, ammunition to Kurdistan: FM". Kurdistan24. November 11, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Czech Rifles and Ammunition for the Peshmerga. Prague Supporting the Fight Against Daesh Again – Defence24.com". www.defence24.com (in Czech). January 27, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Forsvarsavisen 01" (PDF) (in Danish). Ministry of Defense. p. 3. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ a b Jan Joel Andersson and Florence Gaub (2015). "Adding fuel to the fire? Arming the Kurds" (PDF). Issue Alert. 37. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Finland increases military support to Kurdistan". Kurdistan24. September 16, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Greece to send ammunition to Iraqi Kurds". Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ "Assistant Head of DFR and Indian Ambassador discuss areas of cooperation". dfr.gov.krd. April 20, 2017. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Arash Reisinezhad (2018). The Shah of Iran, the Iraqi Kurds, and the Lebanese Shia. Springer. p. 115. ISBN 978-3319899473.
- ^ a b "Dutch and Norwegians train Peshmerga on basic soldier skills". www.centcom.mil. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ a b Guido Weiss (July 8, 2015). "Global Support for Peshmerga Forces". Kurdstrat. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Mosul, Martin Chulov near (October 20, 2016). "Kurdish forces vow no retreat until Nineveh plains are retaken from Isis". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Hasan, H. A. (May 21, 2016). "Romania Pledges Continuous Support for Peshmerga". www.basnews.com. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Litovkin, Nikolai (March 18, 2016). "Russia delivers first weapons supplies to Iraqi Kurds". Russia Beyond. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Inherent Resolve in northern Iraq". Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Sweden will continue support for Peshmerga forces in Kurdistan: Defense Minister". Kurdistan24. May 10, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ a b The Mitrokhin archive. II : the KGB and the world. London: Penguin. 2014. ISBN 978-0141977980.
- ^ "Peshmerga and the Ongoing Fight against ISIS". March 27, 2016. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ^ "Constitution of Iraq" (PDF).
- ^ "Summary of the most important tasks of the Ministry of Peshmerga". Ministry of Peshmerga. November 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Newton-Small, Jay (December 31, 2012). "Destination Kurdistan: Is This Autonomous Iraqi Region a Budding Tourist Hot Spot?". Time. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Druzin, Heath (September 29, 2013). "Rare terrorist attack in peaceful Kurdish region of Iraq kills 6". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Krajeski, Jenna (March 20, 2013). "The Iraq War Was a Good Idea, If You Ask the Kurds". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ "Iraqi PM criticizes Kurdish region for barring army from Syrian border area". Xinhua News Agency. July 28, 2012. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ "Information about Kurdistan". Kurdistan Development Organization. 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Lortz, Michael G. (2005). Willing to Face Death: A History of Kurdish Military Forces – the Peshmerga – from the Ottoman Empire to Present-Day Iraq (MA thesis). Florida State University.
- ^ van Wilgenburg, Wladimir; Fumerton, Mario (December 16, 2015). "Kurdistan's Political Armies: The Challenge of Unifying the Peshmerga Forces" (PDF). Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
- ^ Rai, Manish (October 6, 2014). "Kurdish Peshmerga Can Be a Game-changer in Iraq And Syria". Khaama Press. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ "Operation Red Dawn's eight-month hunt". The Sydney Morning Herald. December 15, 2003. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Ambinder, Marc (April 29, 2013). "How the CIA really caught Bin Laden's trail". The Week. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Roston, Arom (January 9, 2014). "Cloak and Drone: The Strange Saga of an Al Qaeda Triple Agent". Vocativ. Archived from the original on June 25, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Valentine, Peshmerga: Those who Face Death, 2018, chapter five.