Akam Omar died in a German hospital on Monday after being critically injured in the midst of an anti-ISIS operation in Garmiyan administration’s Qum Palik village on October 19.
A large number of Kurdish and foreign officials and commanders attended a ceremony at Sulaimani International Airport, organised to welcome the dead body of Omar on Saturday.
“Akam was a warrior. He fought for Kurdistan. He wanted nothing for himself. All he wished [for] was a free Kurdistan and a united people. I promise you we will can what we can to make Akam’s dream a reality,” said Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in a speech during the event.
The force which the slain commander headed is affiliated to the PUK.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
