Kurdistan

Did Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorist Group assault the Tabqa Dam in Syria?

In 2015, SOFREP interviewed Polad Talabani, the commander of Kurdistan’s elite Counter-Terrorism Group or CTG.  At the time, he spoke about how he wanted his men to get back to conducting real Special Operations missions behind enemy lines, rather than engaging in conventional infantry operations alongside the Peshmerga as they had been in places like […]

U.S.-allied Kurd militia says struck Syria base deal with Russia

The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said Russia was setting up a military base in northwestern Syria under a bilateral agreement and will help train its fighters – a step that would anger Turkey as it tries to block Kurdish gains near its borders. The Russian defense ministry, however, said it had no plans to open […]

Kurdish sources describe dangerous underground warfare near Mosul

SOFREP reached out to several sources on the ground near Mosul, including a Kurdish intelligence officer involved in the battle against ISIS for Iraq’s second largest city. Predominately a Sunni city, Mosul was the home to about a million residents, after nearly half a million fled when ISIS took over in 2014. During Operation Iraqi […]

Obama’s mission to destroy ISIL finally becoming reality

Taking Mosul from the Islamic State is a critical event that must transpire.  Mosul is one of the Islamic State’s most important strongholds. If not done in the best way possible – this fight could drag on. For the Islamic State, they know they’re out-gunned and so, creating humanitarian crisis to test the will of the […]

Trump is wrong about Mosul, Iraq

In recent debates and speeches Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has remarked that the United States government is using poor strategy by announcing the coalition effort to re-take Mosul from ISIS in Northern Iraq. “Why can’t they do it quietly?  Why can’t they make it a sneak attack?  And after the attack is made, inform the […]

The Syrian Kurds and their model of governance

A new model of social organization is taking shape in the Kurdish areas of northern Syria. Rojava, as it is known, comprises three cantons in the western section of the historical homeland of the Kurdish people, which is now divided up among Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. In terms of social equality, ethnic pluralism, and […]

Where can the Kurds turn to next in an ocean of enemies?

The Kurds are on the cusp of betrayal again by U.S. policy makers. It’s not intentional against them, but international powers force the situation, leaving out the Kurds. Their primary enemy is Turkey. But, there’s almost nowhere they can turn. By the end of this they might look towards Communist China and Russia for support. […]

Why the Kurds are weary of foreign volunteers

Much of this will fall on deaf ears and many will continue to live in denial but the Kurdish people have grown incredibly weary of foreign volunteers over the course of their war with ISIS. This is due to several key factors that have cullminated into a distaste for outside help that doesn’t come in […]

Kurds want ISIL defeated, but Assad as our top ally

The Kurds are our friends. They protect American journalists and are the bastion of sanity left in the war-torn portion of Syria. It was an interesting and telling moment during the second debate when Hillary Clinton communicated some apprehension in “some circles” about increasing arms to the Kurds. The Kurds do not have a political […]

Interview with a YPG/Peshmerga foreign fighter

PJ and I were in the same Peshmerga units before he left to fight in Syria alongside the YPG. He is an exceptional warrior that embodies the spirit of the Marine Corps with a sense of humor that cannot be matched, Semper Fidelis brother.   Kurt: What’s your military background? PJ: 0351 infantry assaultman UCMC […]