My Time As a “Guest” of the German Bundeswehr in Erbil, Kurdistan
With some time to kill, the German offered me a seat in the hotel cafe where a dozen Bundeswehr soldiers were hanging out. They even gave me an espresso.
Kurdistan
Lessons and Meditations on Combat and Violence
Violence, like survival itself, demands raw honesty, and those who cling to fantasy or comfort are the first to bleed out when the world turns feral.
SOFREP Morning Brief: US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Russian Drone Strike Kills Three in Dnipro
Start your Friday with the SOFREP Morning Brief: Key intel on defense and global affairs for April 18, 2025.
Inside the Team Room: Interview With US Volunteers at a Peshmerga Base in Kurdistan
In this episode of Inside the Team Room, we’re joined by Kurt and Joey, two U.S. military veterans who found renewed purpose in fighting ISIS alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces, sharing their journey from dissatisfaction in civilian life to the front lines in Kurdistan.
How Delta Force’s Thomas Payne Came to Receive the Medal of Honor
CSM Thomas Payne aided the freeing of 70 prisoners during a Kurdish-led raid on an ISIS compound in Al-Hawija in the Northern province of Kirkuk in 2015.
Turkish Troops Make Grisly Discover After Clash With Kurdish PKK
Turkish troops discovered a grisly scene in a mountain cave after an offensive against the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq.
Operation Provide Comfort: The role of the 10th Special Forces Group
In the spring of 1991, in the aftermath of the defeat of the Iraqi military forces in the Gulf War (Desert Storm), a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions took place. Once the truce was signed by the Iraqi military representatives and the Coalition nations led by the United States, the allies quickly looked to exit […]
Why the US will never fully back an independent Kurdistan
The ongoing ethnic and religious strife in Iraq creates an opportunity for Kurdish nationalists to realize their aspirations and declare independence. Although the Kurds are a nation with a common culture, a shared identity, and have civic organizations that pursue nationalistic-type goals, they still do not have an internationally recognized state. And as we shall […]
Combined Special Operations raid kills two ISIS leaders in Syria
On May 17, a combined Special Operations raid killed two regional Islamic State leaders in eastern Syria. The assault force was comprised of a U.S. Special Operations element and a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) partner force. In a press release, Operation Inherent Resolve identified the two ISIS leaders as Ahmad ‘Isa Ismail al-Zawi, AKA Abu […]
Sinkhole where ISIS dumped scores of bodies is uncovered
Human Rights Watch (HRW), has uncovered evidence that the Islamic State used a gorge in northeast Syria as a mass grave for the bodies of people it had abducted and executed. The HRW drone flight and investigation was conducted at the al-Hota gorge located 85km (53 miles) north of Raqqa city. HRW reported that the […]
Russian mercenary suspected of beheading civilians in Syria identified
The Russian investigative newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, has identified a Russian Wagner Group contractor as the man responsible for the torture and beheading of a Syrian national back in 2017. The newspaper named the alleged torturer as Stanislav Yevgenyevich Dychko. He had been hired as a reconnaissance gunner by the Russian government-linked Wagner mercenary company. However, […]
Treading carefully: How American troops are protecting Kurdish oil fields
American troops stationed in eastern Syria have the difficult and dangerous job of guarding the very oil-rich Kurdish-held land. And everyone — the Syrian government, the Russians, the Turks, and ISIS — wants to control it. The area is developing into a very dangerous place for the American troops: They’ve come under attack from a […]
