Training day: Coalition coaches Peshmerga in ISIS fight

BINASLAWA, Kurdistan Region – A Peshmerga fighter lies flat on his belly behind a Zastava M93 Serbian sniper rifle, scoping his target 100 meters away.

Half a kilometer across desolate plains in the other direction, fellow Kurdish fighters engage the enemy with a barrage of cover fire and tactical advance.

These fighters are not on the frontline against the Islamic State - at least not yet. They are 17 km east of Erbil at the Zeravani training complex, where coalition forces are preparing them to fight the jihadists who have maintained terror strongholds in Iraq and Syria since 2014.

At this facility, one of five in Iraq, soldiers from Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Holland, Finland, Hungary and Norway lead a variety of training camps and classes for Kurdish fighters ranging from 20 to 60 years old, all with varying levels of experience.

Since January 2015, the coalition has trained about 5,000 Peshmerga through courses that last from three to five weeks. Since 2014, more than 60 countries have joined the global coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL (ISIS) by training local fighters, sending weapons and supplies, and providing humanitarian assistance.

“Before, the Peshmerga had no training and would show their entire bodies to the enemy,” said an Italian officer who, like every coalition soldier, wished to remain anonymous as a matter of protocol. “Now, we teach them tactical training.”

With 300 soldiers, 100 of whom are trainers, the Italian Army leads the coalition training camp. Each nation’s military works together in basic warfare training, while specific armies take the lead in programs according to expertise. The Peshmerga, in turn, take courses catered to their skills and experience.

The British Army, for example, trains fighters to “detect and defeat” improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have proved the most deadly ISIS weapons.

Peshmerga with engineering backgrounds learn to navigate terrain laced with explosives by conducting sweeps of mock booby traps on the training ground. They study methods used by ISIS to determine the most likely locations of IEDs. Finally, they learn to diffuse the mines that are made to be notoriously complex and deadly by the terror group.

A German trainer works with a class of a dozen Peshmerga in strategic movement on the battlefield. In the scenario, an ISIS-held bridge ahead of the Peshmerga serves as the security threat and the fighters are tasked with pushing toward it.

“They learn how to get close to the enemy without being detected,” the trainer said. “We teach them how to move forward while always maintaining a security element.”

At the shooting range, Italian soldiers teach the Peshmerga how to use the Serbian snipers, and train them with best-practice methods, from positioning of the body to calibration of the rifle. After a few shots, the trainers and fighters walk out to study the target and gather feedback from the results.

“It is very important the Peshmerga learn these tactics because it is in our best interest to defeat DAESH,” the Italian major said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

The short duration of the courses and the fact that some fighters have had no experience on the battlefield present challenges for the trainers.

“Each class has about 50 fighters, some with few skills,” a British trainer said. “I’m forced to teach based on what they know.”

Still, coalition trainers are quick to note one constant among all the fighters.

“You can see that the Peshmerga have great energy and spirit to fight,” said an Italian trainer. “They are strong people and not scared to fight ISIS.”

Rashad Hamad Amin, Peshmerga battalion commander, said the training has been very useful on the frontline and he hopes it continues. Without it, he said, his fighters face a crippling disadvantage.

“It is much easier to work with those who have trained,” the commander said. “Those who haven’t, you can’t even work with them. They don’t know how to operate.”