US hails Peshmerga forces for victory over ISIS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—In a telephone conversation Wednesday the US government congratulated the Peshmerga forces for their victory over the Islamic State (ISIS) in a day of intense fighting near the Syrian border.

According to a Kurdish presidential statement, US Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani on the telephone, saying that the eyes of the world were on the Kurdish Peshmerga in the fight against terrorism.

The statement said that Biden praised the Peshmerga forces for their victory over ISIS near the border with Syria where the Kurds expelled the radical group from several villages and took control of a vast territory.

Kurdish forces launched a three-pronged attack against ISIS near the town of Shingal and Zumar Wednesday morning and after hours of intense battle they controlled several villages, killing a number of militants and isolating the radical group from their power-base Mosul. 

The US Vice President reiterated his country’s and the coalition forces support for the Kurdistan Region in its fight against terrorism.

The statement read that Biden also discussed with Barzani the removal of Kurdistan’s two major parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union (PUK)—from America’s terror list through the US Congress last week.

The Kurdish president thanked the United States, saying, “The US support gave strength to the people of Kurdistan, especially the participation of the US air force which was most effective.”

US military advisors and Kurdish forces are in close contact on the ground in Erbil to coordinate their ground and air assault against ISIS along Kurdistan’s 1050-kilometer border.