Peshmerga

Peshmerga
پێشمەرگه
Flag of Kurdistan Region
Motto	Ey Reqîb[1]
Founded	1920s/1946
Current form	2003–present
Headquarters	Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Website	gov.krd/mopa
Leadership
President of Kurdistan Region	Nêçîrvan Barzanî
Minister of Peshmerga Affairs	Şoreş Îsmaîl Abdulla
Personnel
Military age	21–41
Conscription	None
Active personnel	150,000 (see § Structure)[2]
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Republic of Iraq[3]
Foreign suppliers	Current:  Albania[4]  Australia[5]  Austria[6]  Belgium[7]  Bulgaria[8]  Canada[4]  Croatia[4]  Cyprus[9]  Czech Republic[10]  Denmark[11]  Estonia[12]  Finland[13]  France[4]  Germany[4]  Greece[14]  Hungary[12]  India[15]  Iran[16]  Israel[16]  Italy[4]  Netherlands[17]  New Zealand[18][19]  Norway[17]  Romania[20]  Russia[21]  Slovakia[18]  Slovenia[22]  Sweden[23]  United Kingdom[4]  United States[4] Former:  Czechoslovakia[24]  Soviet Union[24]
Related articles
History	Before 2003: Mahmud Barzanji revolts Ahmed Barzani revolt 1943 Barzani revolt First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War PUK insurgency Iran–Iraq War 1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions Kurdistan Region–PKK conflict Anfal campaign Gulf War 1991 Iraqi uprisings Battle of Sulaymaniyah Kurdish Civil War Islamist insurgency in Kurdistan After 2003: 2003 invasion of Iraq Operation Viking Hammer First Iraq War Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) Second Iraq War 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria (2023–present)

The Peshmerga (Kurdish: پێشمەرگه Pêşmerge, transl. 'Those Who Face Death')^[25] are the armed forces of Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region in northern Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as police, security forces, and guards of the region".^[26] Other Kurdish defence and security agencies include the Zêrevanî (gendarmerie), Asayish (security and counterterrorism service), and the Parastin û Zanyarî (intelligence agency). The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century, when they began as a tribal paramilitary border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.^[27]

Formally, the Peshmerga are under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In practice, however, the Peshmerga's structure is largely divided and controlled separately by the two Iraqi Kurdish political parties: the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Though unifying and integrating the Peshmerga has been on the Kurdistan Region's public agenda since 1992, the individual forces remain divided due to factionalism, which has proved to be a major stumbling block.^[28]

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Peshmerga played a key role in helping the United States on the mission to capture deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.^[29][30] In 2004, they captured Saudi-born Pakistani terrorist Hassan Ghul, who was operating for al-Qaeda in Iraq. Ghul was turned over to American intelligence officers shortly afterwards, and revealed the identity of several key al-Qaeda figures during his interrogation, which eventually led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in a covert American military operation in Pakistan in 2011.^[31][32][33] One year later, in 2012, Ghul was assassinated by an American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan.