Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi publicly announced that the three-year war aimed at driving the Islamic State out of Iraq was successful and has come to an end. But what he didn’t do was acknowledge the role the Iraqi Kurds played in the defeating of ISIS. And that has the peshmerga forces rightfully mad.

“Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border, and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh [IS],” Abadi said at a conference in Baghdad that was arranged by the Iraqi journalists’ union.

IS fighters seized control of nearly one-third of Iraq in the summer of 2014, threatening the very existence of the Iraqi state. Over the past three-and-one half years, however, Iraqi forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition recaptured all of the territory. Peshmerga forces were part of the international coalition that fought against IS.

Peshmerga Ministry claimed in a statement that 1,824 Peshmerga fighters had been “martyred” and more than 10,000 injured in the fight against IS. A statement issued by the U.S. State Department did not mention Peshmerga’s role in the defeat of IS in Iraq, either.

However, the United Kingdom acknowledged the role of Peshmerga, along with Iraqi forces, in defeating the IS group.

“The UK, as a Coalition member, has played a leading role in supporting the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Armed Forces and the Peshmerga, in the fight against Daesh,” said a statement from British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The Kurds know that they have no friends in the Iraqi government. Which is why they voted, overwhelmingly so, in favor of a referendum for Kurdish independence from Baghdad. That caused the Iraqis to seize their oil-rich territory with the help from the Iranian backed militias.

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