Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Following a deadly attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) which claimed the lives of several Kurdish Kakais on Saturday, a top Kurdish commander threatened on Monday that they will work to regain control of Khanaqin and its surrounding areas by force unless Baghdad heed their repeated calls for the return of Peshmerga forces.
"They invaded our land for 30 years and we took it back from them in one day. We'll take it back from them again in one day," Mahmood Sangawi, Peshmerga commander of the Garmaser Front in Garmiyan told Rudaw on Monday.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces lost control of vast areas of the disputed territories claimed by Erbil and Baghdad on October 16, 2017, weeks after the Region held an independence referendum.
Since then, Baghdad has not allowed for the return of the Peshmerga to the region despite the Iraqi government being unable to protect civilians in the area.
"If they cannot protect them, allow us to do so," Sangawi said. "We are ready to pay more sacrifices to protect our people because they are being martyred in front of our eyes."
ISIS militants stormed the Kakai village of Dara near the Iranian border Saturday night, killing six civilians and a member of the security forces who responded to the firefight, Kadhim Pirouli, a member of a village council in Khanaqin told Rudaw.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday.
Since 2014, Kakai Kurds have been targeted by ISIS because of their religious beliefs. Many now live near Kirkuk, Khanaqin, and in the Nineveh Plains, which are targeted in insurgent attacks by the terror group. They have fought alongside Kurdish Peshmerga units during the counter-ISIS campaign that began in 2016.
ISIS has always referred to Kakais as "infidels" in its weekly al-Naba newsletter, which is usually published by the group's propaganda channels on Telegram messaging app.
"The [Kakai] villages are just next to us, yet they [the Iraqi Army] do not allow us to go to their aid and protect them," Sangawi added.
The repeated killing of the Kakai civilians has reverberated across the political spectrum with Iraqi President Barham Salih, and Kurdish leaders urging Baghdad to engage in talks with the Peshmerga forces in order to put an end to the bloodshed.
Sangawi says PUK Co-chair Bafel Talabani has gone to Baghdad in order to begin the talks.
"He has gone to Mustafa al-Kadhimi for the same purpose. Let them at least let us protect Khanaqin and these villages. Let them go protect other places," the commander added.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment