Peshmerga wary of Hashd al-Shaabi build-up south of Kirkuk

About 75 kilometres southwest of Kirkuk, Peshmerga commanders report a build-up of Hashd al-Shaabi forces that is worrying to the Kurdish forces. 

Noting that there is not a large ISIS presence in the area to justify the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi numbers, "We believe that they have come here to fight the Peshmerga when ISIS is gone," said Colonel Sirwan Muhammed, Peshmerga commander in the area.

Some 1,200 Kurds have joined the Hashd al-Shaabi forces in the area. They do not believe they will be asked to fight the Peshmerga, saying they, in the Hashd, are not the enemy of Kurds.