IS Threat Persists, Kurdistan Presidential Chief Warns
In an interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Saturday, Hussein said that Kurdish forces are now fighting the IS along a 1,500-kilometer border, particularly near Mosul, south of Kirkuk and Jalawla.
He said that the IS was able to advance toward the Kurdistan Region earlier this month because it was in possession of large quantities of heavy weapons seized from six divisions of the Iraqi army and police.
“The balance of military power was in favor of the IS, especially after they had seized the weapons of six divisions of the Iraqi army and police.” Hussein said. “We are talking one thousand armored trucks and thousands of different long range artillery.”
The IS armies launched attacks on the Peshmerga forces from several fronts, particularly near the Syrian border, where they seized the towns of Shingal, Gwer and Makhmour, as well as the Mosul dam.
“To counter this, the Peshmerga had simple weaponry, mostly light and defensive,” said Hussein. “On top of that the Peshmerga forces were deployed from Shingal to Khanaqin and we are talking about vast areas of land.”
Supported by US airstrikes in the past two weeks, Kurdish forces have managed to push back the IS and retake a number of villages, most importantly the strategic Mosul dam.
Hussein said that Peshmerga forces faced a serious challenge in reaching Shingal in time to defend against the IS, because local Sunni tribes were siding with the militants.
“Unfortunately, these tribes turned against us, allied with the IS and the road (to Shingal) became hostile for us,” he explained.
Hussein said the IS was fighting with two methods, armed attacks and a media campaign designed to spread terror.
He said the media campaign “counts for 60 percent of the IS success, by creating fear among children and women.”
In the detailed interview, Hussein said that the tide had turned against the IS, after Erbil had managed to raise global awareness about the threat posed by the group.
Rudaw
