Peshmerga

Kurdish protests over referendum continue

The current count is 80 people wounded and five dead in Iraqi Kurdistan as a result of massive protests held in response to a denial for independence after September’s referendum vote. Kurdish citizens predominantly voted in favor of cession from the Iraqi government and Baghdad’s stranglehold on Kurdistan’s economy, but Iraq responded swiftly with the […]

A volunteer’s perspective on training foreign soldiers

During my time embedded with Kurdish Peshmerga forces, I spent the majority of it in a training and advising role when not conducting combat operations. With this position I have come to acquire a vast amount of experience in what it requires to train soldiers to specific standards. There are basically two routes when it […]

Kurds Criticize Abadi For Not Mentioning Their Role in Defeating IS

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 […]

Ukrainian Army Recon train in CQB

CQB (Close Quarters Battle) is like religion, guys get very passionate about it and everyone thinks their way is the one true way, aside from a few agnostics. CQB refers to a type of fighting that typically occurs inside of buildings and extremely tight spaces considering a gunfight is what may go down. The Eastern […]

The Glock 17, a pistol for fighting

As always, I am a huge proponent of carrying and using whatever you have at your disposal. However depending on how you’re trained or how your brain works, because we are all different, certain firearms can be more conducive to your shooting skills than others. That being said I have my own personal standards for […]

SilencerCo Osprey 45 Suppressor

SilencerCo has come out with some pretty innovative stuff lately; the Maxim9 was a hot topic when it was revealed. Despite all the hype around it I still feel that the Osprey was probably the most practical and unique thing to come out of the suppressor community in a long time. It’s probably the best […]

The Recce Rifle

Reconnaissance teams of all different origins have always been centered around the ability to be a minimalist,  highly maneuverable element that can discreetly observe and report on the enemy, providing valuable intelligence for command elements that often dictates when and where the fight takes place. With this mission comes the desire for lightweight and versatile […]

SilencerCo Spectre II Suppressor

The .22 LR caliber firearms aren’t very loud to begin with—add a suppressor to that and you’ve got a very quiet shooter that is perfect for plinking or hunting small game. SilencerCo has yet again produced a quality AND affordable suppressor with the SpectreII. With an MSRP of around $400, what’s not to love? The Spectre […]

Turkey’s gun culture: Sales soar as one in three households owns a firearm

A stroll through a bustling underpass in the centre of Istanbul offers the chance to buy a range of everyday goods: cheap watches, kettles, $2 emergency umbrellas to ward off autumn showers. And replica AK-47 assault rifles. While the rifles, and dozens of handguns displayed nearby, are imitations, they nevertheless stand out from the surrounding Karakoy stalls. […]

Germany Resumes Training of Peshmerga, But for How Long?

In the fight against the Islamic State terrorists, the German army was providing training and arms for the Peshmerga, the Kurdish people from Iraq who have been invaluable allies in the Global War on Terror. That mission was halted for a week, however, due to the conflict behind the Iraqi Kurds and the Baghdad government […]

The fall of Kirkuk

Over the past few days, the city of Kirkuk once again has become the center of an age-old conflict between Arabs and Kurds; but is everything as it seems? For the most part you’re going to hear about intense fighting, Peshmerga retreating and Iraqi-backed militia invaders; but the truth is so much more and quite […]

The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa tests US commitment to Syrian Kurds

U.S.-backed forces in Syria claimed Tuesday that they had full control of the Islamic State’s onetime capital of Raqqa, heralding an end to the militants’ presence in their most symbolically important stronghold and raising new questions about the United States’ future role in Syria. Mustafa Abdi, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, […]