Massoud Barzani... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes...
, President of Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said Wednesday that the loss of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces during battles against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group (IS/ISIS) amounted to 800 casualties, including 300 officers.
"We have pushed the snuffies back, and liberated about 17,000 square kilometers which was under their control," Barzani said.
Barzani told news hounds in Erbil that among the dead Peshmergas were hundreds of officers.
"We admit that the price of liberation is so high, but it must be paid for the defense and existence of a whole nation and its dignity."
The Kurdistan Region's President explained that the region has experienced a very serious threat, pointing out that the myrmidons' losses were not less than 3000 dead.
"Baghdad and other parties informed the western powers of their full readiness to fight the IS criminals until the end. There is a need for further military support from our Western allies to continue the anti-IS war," President Barzani said.
"We will not allow this radical group to commit more violations against civilians. We will not forgive those who slaughtered innocent people and captivated Yezidi women," Barzani added. "We will not forgive those who participated and helped these monsters to conduct such horrific crimes."
He praised the sacrifices of the people of Kurdistan, at all levels, and said that the battle began at a time Maliki's government (the former Iraqi P.M.) cut off the salaries of the Region's people.
The Kurdish activist Arif Temir told ARA News that the Kurdish Peshmerga forces proved to the international community and regional powers that they were the only force that pushed the radical group back in the cities and areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in addition to its participation in retaking the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane.