Family of Peshmerga slain by ISIS to welcome President Macron to Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The family of a Peshmerga fighter captured and beheaded by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015 will welcome French President Emmanuel Macron to Erbil on Sunday. 

Hujam Surchi was beheaded in the city of Mosul after being handed over to the group by local villagers in an August 2014 battle that left eight of his colleagues dead. He is survived by 11 children. 

"We are the proudest people for having been invited by the presidency of the Kurdistan Region to take part in the reception ceremony," said his eldest son Omer Hujam Surchi. "Our request for the global leaders is to express their support and assist the Peshmerga, because the Peshmerga fought against Daesh [ISIS] with their light weapons."

"My father was a very kind person. He was very committed to his work," added Sara Hujam Surchi. 

Approximately three dozen Peshmerga fighters were captured by ISIS. More than 2,000 Peshmerga were killed and 10,000 wounded in the fight against the terror group.

Speaking in Baghdad on Saturday, Macron said there must be vigilance in fighting ISIS, with the terror group still posing a threat.

"We all know that we must not lower our guard, because Daesh [ISIS] remains a threat, and I know that the fight against these terrorist groups is a priority of your government," he said in a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.  

In Erbil, he will meet with Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani, and will also visit Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani to pay his respects to fallen Peshmerga fighters. 

France is part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.