Kurdish presidency: Shiite leader’s remarks sound like Saddam, ISIS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s presidency said on Monday that remarks by a Shiite leader who reportedly threatened to deploy the Iraqi forces in Kurdish areas liberated by the Peshmerga, follow the path of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and ISIS, both enemies who lost due to the bravery of the Kurds.

Baqir Jabir Solaq, a Shiite leader from the Islamic Supreme Council, in remarks published on social media and some media outlets titled “Bashiqa, we are coming,” reportedly said the Iraqi forces and their allied Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries have become strong enough to head to liberated Kurdish areas

“We now have a strong army and Hashd al-Shaabi that cannot be stopped by any border or embankments as a response to the remarks by some that say they will stay in areas that were liberated recently by the Peshmerga,” Solaq said.

The Islamic Supreme Council is headed by the powerful Shiite leader Ammar al-Hakeem, who also heads the Shiite National Alliance with whom the Kurdish parties had very strong relations, in particular during their struggle against the former Iraqi regime, ties which have continued since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Last month, the Kurdish President Masoud Barzani in a joint press conference with Hakeem in the newly-liberated Bashiqa town hailed the unprecedented cooperation between the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga in their war against the ISIS.

The Kurdish presidency said they are not sure Solag made these remarks, but questioned the lack of denial by the Shiite party. 

“Despite the fact that it has been some days since the publication of the remarks, which claimed to be from this leader of the Supreme Islamic Council -- with whom we have historical and old ties and mutual struggle -- unfortunately we have not seen any remarks to debunk this remarks of his,” a statement published by the spokesperson for the Kurdistan presidency said on Monday

It added that even if the remarks were to be true, the strong relations between Kurdistan and the Islamic Supreme Council would stay as they are. 

“Even if the news turned out to be true, and the remarks were indeed his words, we reiterate our historical and old relations between us, and if it were not for the Peshmerga forces and the bravery of these forces the Iraqi forces would not have been able to achieve the kind of victories we have seen today,” the presidential spokesman said.

“The Peshmerga forces in this operation were able to defeat the first defence lines of Daesh (ISIS) and made it possible for the operation “We Are Coming Nineveh” to continue, he added.

Finally, the statement said that if Solag’s comments are aimed at igniting “an oppressive war,” then the current and previous examples of Kurdish enemies set the evidence that the Kurds will prevail.

“History is the witness of the examples like Saddam Hussein, his weapons of mass destruction and his arsenal, and after him the terrorist organization of Daesh, whose brutality and force has surpassed that of Saddam. But each was defeated in the high mountains of Kurdistan.”