Latest news with #KurdishPeshmerga
Shafaq News
02-07-2025
- General
- Shafaq News
Peshmerga tribute statue in Kirkuk left neglected
Shafaq News – Kirkuk A prominent statue honoring Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk remains neglected eight years after its construction, with visible damage and no restoration efforts to date, sculptors behind the project said on Tuesday. Despite its significance and strategic location, the monument has suffered from years of exposure to harsh weather and a lack of maintenance, Barzan Dalo, one of the sculptors involved in the project, told Shafaq News. 'No repairs or cleaning have been done since it was installed,' Dalo said, expressing that 'For those of us who helped build it, the current condition is painful to see.' The 23-meter-tall monument, depicting a Peshmerga soldier holding a flagpole and an AK-47 rifle, was installed in 2017 at the northern entrance of Kirkuk, near the Shoraw roundabout on the road to Erbil. It was erected following major battles between Kurdish forces and ISIS, serving as a tribute to the Peshmerga's role in defending the city. Mounting the rifle on the statue's shoulder was a deeply symbolic moment, Dalo stated, adding that 'It represented the spirit of the fighter who bravely protected Kirkuk.' The monument was created by the 'Ustad Man Group,' a collective of Kurdish artists, during a period of intense public appreciation for the Peshmerga's sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. Dalo criticized that, 'had this statue been an oil well, political groups in Kirkuk would have competed to maintain and invest in it. Unfortunately, it seems that symbolism means nothing without material benefit.'
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Russian Troops Rolled Into Battle In A Yellow School Bus
A Russian bus on the front line in Donetsk. Chinese-made golf carts. Belarusian motorcycles. Lada compact cars, bukhanka vans and antique GAZ-69 trucks. Surplus electric scooters from Russia's thriving scooter rental industry. At least one locomotive. As Russia's stocks of armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) run low, Russian regiments and brigades in Ukraine are turning to civilian vehicles to transport troops into battle. The most recent addition to this arsenal of ex-civilian vehicles, many of them up-armored with anti-drone cages, might be the most comical: a school bus. On or just before Sunday, a Ukrainian drone operator spotted a yellow school bus parked near the front line in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, the locus of the fighting in the east. The bus may have broken down. It may have gotten stuck while trying to go off-road on the soft terrain that's typical of springtime Ukraine. At least one explosive first-person-view drone barreled in, striking the bus and lighting it ablaze. As a battlefield transport, a bus is less than ideal. 'Civilian vehicles are better than walking but will obviously not provide any protection or fire support' with vehicle-mounted guns, explained analyst Jakub Janovksy. 'So assaults with them instead of proper AFVs will be more costly and more likely to fail. They are also unlikely to be able to cross trenches, razor wire and other anti-infantry obstacles.' A Russian car with add-on anti-drone armor. But the Russians have little choice. Verified Russian losses in the 39 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine include 17,000 vehicles and other pieces of heavy equipment. That's more vehicles than many armies have in their entire inventories—and more vehicles than Russia's sanctions-squeezed weapons industry can produce in three years. Annual production of new tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in Russia might total 1,100. The Kremlin has complemented its newly built vehicles with Cold War-vintage vehicles its technicians pulled from vast storage yards. But even these yards are depleted now. 'A lot of what remains is in a terrible state,' Janovksy said. Hence the golf carts, scooters and cars—and the bus. The Donetsk war bus wasn't the first-ever bus to go to war in recent years. Islamic State militants and their most fearsome opponents, the Kurdish Peshmerga, both modified civilian vehicles for combat use in the 2010s. The big difference between the ISIS and Pesh battle buses and Russia's own battle bus is that the former usually wore a lot of add-on armor to protect them from enemy fire. The Russians often add protection to their civilian assault vehicles, but there's no evidence they gave the bus in Donetsk this treatment. Maybe there was no time. Maybe the engineers who fit cars and trucks with improvised armor weren't ready to give a much bigger vehicle the same treatment. Abandoned, immobile and totally lacking protection from the drones that are everywhere all the time over the front line in Ukraine, the Russian bus was an easy target.
Shafaq News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
French FM: Paris raises Leader Barzani's role in peace
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot commended Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani for fostering unity among Kurdish factions. Barrot, accompanied by French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durel and French Consul in Erbil Yann Braem, discussed regional developments with Barzani during a meeting in the Salahuddin resort near Erbil, focusing on bilateral ties, political dynamics in the Kurdistan Region, and relations between Erbil and Baghdad. The talks also touched on Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections and the situation in Syria, where both sides emphasized the need for dialogue and reconciliation among Kurdish groups. Meanwhile, Barzani stressed the importance of continued efforts toward a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue in Turkiye and reiterated the Kurdistan Region's support for initiatives that promote peace, before accepting Barrot's invitation to visit Paris and attend a ceremony honouring the sacrifices of the Kurdish Peshmerga in the fight against terrorism.
Rudaw Net
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraqi strike kills suspected ISIS members in Salahaddin
Also in Iraq Numerous Anfal victims believed to be buried in Kirkuk cemetery Graves of Anfal victims discovered in Kirkuk cemetery: Activists Hassan Turan resigns as Iraqi Turkmen Front leader Kurdish Peshmerga destroy suspected ISIS hideouts in Diyala A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members were killed in an Iraqi airstrike on their hideout in rural Salahaddin province, the army said on Sunday, as Baghdad continues to clamp down on jihadist remnants. Iraq's air force 'carried out an airstrike using F-16 fighter jets targeting the two hideouts, killing the ISIS terrorist gang members inside, and destroying equipment, logistical materials, and communication devices,' the army's Security Media Cell said in a statement. The statement did not disclose the exact number of casualties. Iraq carries out frequent airstrikes on suspected ISIS hideouts to pursue remnants of the group, particularly within areas of Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh provinces that are disputed between Erbil and Baghdad and a security vacuum exists, as well as in the Anbar desert that borders Syria. Iraqi forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga are coordinating to combat the group in the disputed areas. Another Iraqi airstrike in mid-March in the Anbar desert killed Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, ISIS's second-in-command globally and its top man in Iraq and Syria. In late February, the head of Iraq's Security Media Cell told Rudaw that Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated ISIS from the country, with only a few hundred militants remaining in remote areas. The group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, three years after it seized control of swathes of territory in the north and centre of the country.
Shafaq News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Peshmerga entry into Khanaqin: "Completely false''
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, a senior security official dismissed reports that Kurdish Peshmerga forces had entered checkpoints controlled by the Iraqi security forces in Diyala province, including Al-Quban in Khanaqin, north-eastern Diyala province. Speaking to Shafaq News, the source called the allegations 'completely false and without basis.' He also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between federal forces and the Peshmerga along the al-Sulaymaniyah-Diyala border. 'The sectors are divided between the two forces based on high-level government agreements,' the official explained. 'This coordination is vital in ensuring security and preventing any violations in the region,' he added.
