peshmerga

The word "Peshmerga" can be translated to "to stand in front of death",{{cite web |first=Allegra |last=Stratton |title=Hero of the people |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/153517 |work=New Statesman |date=26 June 2006 |access-date=14 February 2015}}{{cite web|last=Koerner |first=Brendan |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2003/03/are_kurdish_soldiers_facing_death_or_seeking_death.html |title=What does the Kurdish word Peshmerga mean? |website=Slate.com |date=2003-03-21 |access-date=2016-10-18}}From the Kurdish {{lang|ku|pêş}} ({{lang|ckb|{{big|پێش}}}}) "before" and {{lang|ku|merg}} {{lang|ckb|{{big|مەرگ}}}} "death". and Valentine states it was first used by Qazi Muhammad in the short-lived Mahabad Republic (1946–47).Valentine, Those Who Face Death, KDP, 2018. The word is understandable to Persian speakers.{{cite book |first=Donald |last=Stilo |title=Aspects of Iranian Linguistics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nlkZBwAAQBAJ&q=pishmarg+word&pg=PA15|publisher =Cambridge Scholars Publishing |date=March 2008 |isbn=9781443810135 |access-date=19 October 2017}}

{{Main|History of the Peshmerga}}

The Kurdish warrior tradition of rebellion has existed for thousands of years along with aspirations for independence, and early Kurdish warriors fought against the various Persian empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire.S. R. Valentine, Peshmerga: Those Who Face Death, KDP, 2018, see the introduction and chapter one.

Historically the Peshmerga existed only as guerrilla organizations, but under the self-declared Republic of Mahabad (1946–1947), the Peshmerga led by Mustafa Barzani became the official army of the republic.{{cite web |first=Mufid |last=Abdulla |title=Mahabad – the first independent Kurdish republic |url=http://kurdistantribune.com/2011/mahabad-first-independent-kurdish-republic/ |work=The Kurdistan Tribune |date=12 June 2011 |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-date=May 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528231328/http://kurdistantribune.com/2011/mahabad-first-independent-kurdish-republic/ |url-status=dead }} After the fall of the republic and the execution of head of state Qazi Muhammad, Peshmerga forces reemerged as guerrilla organizations that would go on to fight the Iranian and Iraqi governments for the remainder of the century.{{cite book |first=Susan |last=Meiselas |title=Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History |edition=2nd |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-226-51928-9}}

In Iraq, most of these Peshmerga were led by Mustafa Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.{{cite web |title=President |url=http://www.krgspain.org/government/profiles/english-president/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730010255/http://www.krgspain.org/government/profiles/english-president/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 30, 2014 |work=Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in Spain |date=2015 |access-date=14 February 2015}} In 1975 the Peshmerga were defeated in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War. Jalal Talabani, a leading member of the KDP, left the same year to revitalize the resistance and founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. This event created the baseline for the political discontent between the KDP and PUK that divides Peshmerga forces and much of Kurdish society in Kurdistan.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3011925|title=The Kurds between Iran and Iraq|author=van Bruinessen, Martin|year=1986|journal=MERIP Middle East Report|issue=141|pages=14–27|doi=10.2307/3011925|jstor=3011925 | issn=0888-0328}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/05/getting-peshmerga-reform-right-helping-iraqi-kurds-help-post-isis-iraq/|title=Getting Peshmerga Reform Right: Helping the Iraqi Kurds to Help Themselves in Post-ISIS Iraq – Foreign Policy Research Institute|website=www.fpri.org}}

After Mustafa Barzani's death in 1979, his son Masoud Barzani took his position. As tension increased between KDP and PUK, most Peshmerga fought to keep a region under their own party's control while also fighting off Iraqi Army incursions. Following the First Persian Gulf War, Iraqi Kurdistan saw the Kurdish Civil War between the two major parties, the KDP and the PUK, and Peshmerga forces were used to fight each other.S. R. Valentine, Peshmerga: Those Who Face Death, KDP, 2018, chapter six. The civil war officially ended in September 1998 when Barzani and Talabani signed the Washington Agreement establishing a formal peace treaty.{{cite web |first=Frman |last=Abdulrahman |title=Never-ending mystery: what really happened to Kurdish civil war missing |url=http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3000 |work=niqash |date=23 February 2012 |access-date=22 February 2015}} In the agreement, the parties agreed to share revenue and power, deny the use of northern Iraq to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and not allow Iraqi troops into the Kurdish regions. By then, around 5,000 had been killed on both sides, and many more had been evicted for being on the wrong side.{{cite web |first=Charles |last=McDermid |title=New force emerges in Kirkuk |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LB20Ak02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222221442/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LB20Ak02.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=22 February 2010 |work=Asia Times Online |date=20 February 2010 |access-date=22 February 2015}} In the years after, tension remained high, but both parties moved towards each other, and in 2003 they both took part in the overthrowing of the Baathist regime as part of the Iraq War. Unlike other militia forces, the Peshmerga were never prohibited by Iraqi law.[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28738975 Profile: Who are the Peshmerga?] BBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2014.

File:Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighter in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 2003.jpg In 2014, the Peshmerga withdrew from the Nineveh Plains, which was said by the locals as being a contributing factor of the quick Islamic State victory in the invasion, and the widespread massacre of Yazidis, who were rendered defenseless.{{cite web|last=van den Toorn|first=Christine|date=August 17, 2014|title=How the U.S.-Favored Kurds Abandoned the Yazidis when ISIS Attacked|url=https://auis.edu.krd/iris/staff-publications/how-us-favored-kurds-abandoned-yazidis-when-isis-attacked|access-date=June 27, 2020|website=Institute of Regional & International Studies|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627185938/https://auis.edu.krd/iris/staff-publications/how-us-favored-kurds-abandoned-yazidis-when-isis-attacked|url-status=dead}}

File:pershmega near Syria - June 23, 2014.jpg

The Peshmerga are mostly divided among forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and those loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),{{cite journal|last1=Helfont|first1=Samuel|title=Getting Peshmerga Reform Right: Helping the Iraqi Kurds to Help Themselves in Post-ISIS Iraq.|journal=Foreign Policy Research Institute|date= 1 March 2017|volume=16|pages=13}} while other, minor Kurdish parties such as the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party also have their own small Peshmerga units.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/161020161 |title=Kaka Hama, head of Kurdish Socialist Party joins Mosul battle plan with force |agency=Rudaw Media Network |date=16 October 2016 |access-date=24 February 2018}} The Islamic Movement of Kurdistan also had its own Peshmerga unit, which became an official Peshmerga branch during the Iran-Iraq war, and was disarmed in 2003.Kurdish Islamists in Iraq from the Muslim Brotherhood to the So-Called Islamic State: Continuity or Departure?, Mohammed Shareef, 2015, pp. 25, {{ISBN|9786038032657}} The KDP and PUK do not disclose information about the composition of their forces with government or media. Thus there is no reliable number of how many Peshmerga fighters exist. Media outlets have speculated that there are between 150,000 and 200,000 Peshmerga, but this number is highly disputed.{{cite news|title=Over 150,000 enlisted as Peshmerga troops in Kurdistan Region, official data shows |agency=Rudaw |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/03042017|access-date=13 August 2017|date=3 April 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Hawramy|first1=Fazel|title=Kurdish Peshmerga divisions hamper war effort|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/iraq-kurdish-peshmerga-division-islamic-state.html|access-date=12 February 2018|work=Al-monitor|date=13 January 2015}} Peshmerga have divided Kurdistan Region into a KDP-governed "yellow" zone covering Dohuk Governorate and Erbil Governorate and a PUK-governed "green" zone covering Sulaymaniyah Governorate and Halabja Governorate.Chapman, Dennis. Security Forces of Kurdistan Regional Government, US Army War College. 2009, p. 3. Each zone has its own branch of Peshmerga with their own governing institutions that do not coordinate with the other branch.S. R. Valentine, Peshmerga: Those Who Face Death, KDP, 2018, chapter 9.

As a result of the split nature of the Peshmerga forces, there is no central command center in charge of the entire force, and Peshmerga units instead follow separate military hierarchies depending on political allegiance.{{cite web|url=http://lebanonwire.com/1409MLN/14091314STR.asp|title=Lebanonwire.com – Kurdish Peshmerga Forces Have Room to Grow|work=lebanonwire.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113050615/http://lebanonwire.com/1409MLN/14091314STR.asp|archive-date=2015-01-13}} Multiple unification and depoliticizing efforts of the Peshmerga have been made since 1992. But so far all deadlines have been missed, reforms have been watered down, and most of the Peshmerga are still under the influence of the KDP and the PUK, who also maintain their separate Peshmerga forces. Following the events of the Iraqi Civil War in 2014, the United States and several Europe nations pressured the PUK and KDP to set up mixed brigades of Peshmerga as a condition for aid and funding. The PUK and KDP united 12 to 14 brigades under the Regional Guard Brigades, which were then placed under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. However, officers continue to report to and take orders from their party leaders who also control the deployment of forces loyal to them and appoint front-line and sector commanders.

Both the KDP and the PUK rely heavily on irregulars in times of conflict to increase their ranks.{{cite news|last1=Howard|first1=Michael|title=Revenge spurs women's army|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/26/iraq.michaelhoward|access-date=13 February 2018|work=The Guardian|date=26 November 2002}} However, both maintain several professional military brigades. The following units have been identified within the Peshmerga force:

Due to limited funding and the vast size of the Peshmerga forces, the KRG planned to downsize its forces from large numbers of low-quality forces to a smaller but much more effective and well-trained force.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6oP3Y9ZM3sC&pg=PA129|title=Withdrawal from Iraq|isbn=9780892065530|access-date=20 March 2015|last1=Cordesman|first1=Anthony H.|last2=Mausner|first2=Adam|year=2009}} Consequently, in 2009, the KRG and Baghdad engaged in discussions about incorporating parts of the Peshmerga forces into the Iraqi Army in what would be the 15th and 16th Iraqi Army divisions.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgEo2q76J_0C&pg=PA309|title=Iraq and the United States|isbn=9780892065950|access-date=20 March 2015|last1=Cordesman|first1=Anthony H.|last2=Mausner|first2=Adam|last3=Derby|first3=Elena|year=2010}}Chapman, Dennis. Security Forces of Kurdistan Regional Government, US Army War College. 2009, p. 112. However, after increasing tension between Erbil and Baghdad regarding the disputed areas, the transfer was largely put on hold. Some Peshmerga were already transferred but reportedly deserted again, and there are allegations that former Peshmerga forces remained loyal to the KRG rather than their Iraqi chain of command; regardless, thousands of members of the 80 Unit of KDP and the 70 Unit of PUK are based in Baghdad, and they have good cooperation with other Iraqi forces in Baghdad.{{cite news|title=Peshmerga, Iraqi Army form committees to start joint ops in disputed areas |agency=Rudaw |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/06022019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/1000-kurdish-soldiers-desert-from-iraqi-army.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48701&|title=1,000 Kurdish soldiers desert from Iraqi army |work=Hurriyet Daily News|date=June 13, 2013 |access-date=20 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=Iraq's army and Kurds will join forces to retake Mosul |agency=PRI |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/iraqs-army-and-kurds-will-join-forces-retake-mosul}}

The Peshmerga forces are secular with a Muslim majority and Assyrian and Yazidi units.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-sinjar-idUSKBN0JZ0QO20141221|title=Iraqi Kurds, Yazidis fight Islamic State for strategic town of Sinjar |work=Reuters|date=December 21, 2014 |access-date=20 March 2015|last1=Coles |first1=Isabel }}{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070120151|title=Mosul Christians form army under Peshmerga direction |agency=Rudaw|access-date=20 March 2015}}

File:Task Force Talon advises, assists Ministry of Peshmerga July 28, 2016.jpg

Peshmerga forces largely rely on old arms captured from battles. The Peshmerga captured stockpiles of weapons during the 1991 Iraqi uprisings.{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/iraq-asks-krg-for-pre-saddam-weapons.html#|title=Iraqi Defense Ministry Asks KRG To Return Saddam-Era Weapons |work=Al-Monitor|date=June 28, 2013 |access-date=20 March 2015}} Several stockpiles of weapons were captured from the old Iraqi Army during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, in which Peshmerga forces were active. Following the retreat of the new Iraqi Army during the June 2014 Islamic State offensive, Peshmerga forces reportedly again managed to get hold of weapons left behind by the Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/as-isil-retreats-iraqi-kurds-gain-new-ammunition#page1|title=As ISIL retreats, Iraqi Kurds gain new ammunition|author=Hugh Naylor|work=The National|date=September 18, 2014|access-date=20 March 2015}} Since August 2014, Peshmerga forces have also captured weapons from the Islamic State.{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/03/kurdish-forces-captured-a-isis-base-after-a-two-day-siege-but-the-isis-fighters-inside-somehow-slipped-away/|title=Kurdish forces captured an ISIS base after a two-day siege – but the ISIS fighters inside somehow slipped away|author=Richard Spencer, The Telegraph|date=3 October 2014|work=National Post|access-date=20 March 2015}} In 2015, for the first time, Peshmerga soldiers received urban warfare and military intelligence training from foreign trainers, the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.{{cite news|title= Coalition helps Peshmerga muscle up on urban warfare|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/160420155|access-date=17 April 2015|work=Rudaw|date=16 April 2015}}

The Peshmerga arsenal is limited and confined by restrictions because the Kurdish Region has to purchase arms through the Iraqi government. Due to disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi government, arms flows from Baghdad to Kurdistan Region have been almost nonexistent, as Baghdad fears Kurdish aspirations for independence.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/03/iraq-peshmerga-desperate-for-us-arms-in-fight-against-isis/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103073335/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/03/iraq-peshmerga-desperate-for-us-arms-in-fight-against-isis/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2015|title=Iraq's Peshmerga desperate for US arms in fight against ISIS|author=Hollie McKay|publisher=Fox News|access-date=20 March 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/arms-for-kurdish-peshmerga-to-affect-military-balance/a-17853077|title=Arms for Kurdish Peshmerga to affect military balance|work=Deutsche Welle|access-date=20 March 2015}} After the Islamic State offensive of August 2014, multiple governments armed the Peshmerga with light arms, night goggles, and ammunition.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/14/uk-britain-arms-supply-kurdish-forces-iraq-isis|title=UK prepares to supply arms directly to Kurdish forces fighting Isis|author=Nicholas Watt|work=The Guardian|date=August 14, 2014|access-date=23 October 2014}}{{Cite web|url=https://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/8/state8392.htm|title=Seven western states join US to arm Iraqi Kurdistan: Pentagon|website=ekurd.net}} However, Kurdish officials and Peshmerga stressed that they were not receiving enough and Baghdad was blocking arms from reaching the KRG, emphasizing the need for weapons to be sent directly and not through Baghdad.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iraqs-kurds-appeal-for-new-us-arms-to-combat-islamic-state/2014/11/12/d2a0fe28-6aa6-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html|title=Iraq's Kurds appeal for new U.S. arms to combat Islamic State|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=20 March 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-barzani-idUSKCN0J30ON20141119|title=Iraqi Kurds say West not providing enough arms to defeat Islamic State|work=Reuters|date=November 19, 2014|access-date=20 March 2015}} Despite this, the United States has maintained that the government of Iraq is responsible for the security of Iraqi Kurdistan and that Baghdad must approve all military aid.

The Peshmerga lack a proper medical corps and communication units. This became apparent during the Islamic State offensive in 2014 where the Peshmerga found itself lacking ambulances and frontline field hospitals, forcing wounded fighters to walk back to safety. There is also a lack of communication tools, as Peshmerga commanders are forced to use civilian cellphones to communicate with each other. Under the guidance of the US-led coalition the Peshmerga started to standardize its weapons systems, replacing Soviet-era weapons with NATO firearms.

{{main|List of current equipment of the Peshmerga}}

Peshmerga has been accused of corruption, partisanship, nepotism and fraud.{{cite web |title=The Peshmerga of Iraq |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insideiraq/2008/03/2008525185811788617.html |work=Aljazeera.com |date=1 March 2008 |access-date=22 February 2015}}{{cite web |title=KRG and the 'godfathers': 2006 secret US cable on Wikileaks |url=http://kurdistantribune.com/2014/krg-godfathers-2006-secret-cable-on-wikileaks/ |work=The Kurdistan Tribune |date=8 May 2014 |access-date=22 February 2015}}{{cite web |first=Jacqueline |last=Devigne |title="Iraqoncilable" Differences? The Political Nature of the Peshmerga |url=http://tiglarchives.org/sites/default/files/resources/nimep/v5/NIMEP_Insights_2011_48-64.pdf |work=NIMEP Insights |date=2011 |access-date=22 February 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/3/state7820.htm|title=PUK official warns Peshmerga will not take orders from anyone else: Iraqi Kurdistan|access-date=20 March 2015}} Peshmerga is accused of listing

"ghost employees" who do not exist or do not show up for work but receive a salary. Those setting up such a scam split the salary of these employees.

In addition the KDP and PUK have used the Peshmerga to exert a monopoly on the use of force within their zones. In 2011 KDP Peshmerga fired on anti-government protesters in Sulaymaniyah, and the PUK later used its own security forces to break up these protests, leading to criticism from all of the opposition parties in the parliament. In 2014 the KDP used its Peshmerga to stop ministers from the Gorran Movement to enter Erbil and attend parliament.

Outside of Kurdistan Region the Peshmerga has been criticized for using force to exert control of local Arab, Yazidi and Assyrian communities, particularly after taking control of areas officially outside of Kurdistan Region during the Iraqi Civil War.{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/11/13/marked-x/iraqi-kurdish-forces-destruction-villages-homes-conflict-isis|title=Marked With An "X" {{!}} Iraqi Kurdish Forces' Destruction of Villages, Homes in Conflict with ISIS|date=2016-11-13|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2018-04-24|language=en}}

{{main|Kurdish women}}

Women have played a significant role in the Peshmerga since its foundation. The Kurdish Zand tribe was known for allowing women in military roles. During the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict the majority of women served within the Peshmerga in supporting roles such as building camps, taking care of the wounded, and carrying munitions and messages. Several women brigades served on the front lines. Margaret George Malik{{Cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/articles/assyriansiniraq.pdf|title=Assyrians in Iraq, Vahram Petrosian}} was an iconic{{cite book |last1=Vindheim |first1=Jan Bojer |title=Kurdistan stiger fram |date=2016 |publisher=Kolofon Forlag |isbn=978-82-300-1494-3 |pages=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlBfDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT71}} Assyrian guerilla fighter who was given a leading position in important battles such as the battle of Zawita Valley.{{cite book |last1=Sankey |first1=Margaret D. |title=Women and War in the 21st Century: A Country-by-Country Guide |date=2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-5766-9 |pages=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HxqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172}} The PUK started recruiting women during the Kurdish Civil War. Women were given a 45-day basic training that included parade drills and basic marksmanship with various rifles, mortars, and RPGs.

In the months leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the United States launched Operation Viking Hammer which dealt a huge blow to Islamic terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan and uncovered a chemical weapons facility.Plan of Attack, Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuster, 2004.{{cite book |title=Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq |first=Mike |last=Tucker |author2=Charles Faddis |year=2008 |publisher=The Lyons Press |isbn=978-1-59921-366-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/operationhotelca00tuck }}{{Cite web|url=http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/10/r2081007-22101.asx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930081326/http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/10/r2081007-22101.asx |url-status=dead |title=An interview on public radio with the author|archive-date=September 30, 2011}}Chalk, Peter, Encyclopedia of Terrorism Volume 1, 2012, ABC-CLIO{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/para/ansar.htm |title=Ansar al-Islam |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=2012-08-08}} The PUK later confirmed that female Kurdish fighters had participated in the operation.

File:Peshmerga & YPG.jpg' (YPG) woman volunteer with Peshmerga soldier]]

The modern Peshmerga is almost entirely made up of men, while having at least 600 women in their ranks.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11216064/Meet-the-Kurdish-women-fighting-the-Islamic-State.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11216064/Meet-the-Kurdish-women-fighting-the-Islamic-State.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Meet the Kurdish women fighting the Islamic State |date=8 November 2014|work=Telegraph|access-date=20 March 2015}}{{cbignore}} In the KDP, these Peshmerga women have been refused access to the frontline and are mostly used in logistics and management positions,{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/28092014|title=No Frontline Deployment for Female Kurdish Troops|work=Rudaw|access-date=20 March 2015}} but PUK Peshmerga women are deployed in the front lines and are actively engaged in combat.{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/220620151|title=KRG halts recruiting of female Peshmerga|agency=Rudaw}}{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/iraq-kurdistan-female-regiment-peshmerga-fight-is.html|title=Meet the female Peshmerga forces fighting IS |date=August 11, 2014 |publisher=Al-Monitor}}

{{Portal|Kurdistan}}

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{{Reflist}}

• Simon Ross Valentine, Peshmerga: Those Who Face Death: The Kurdish Army, its History, Development, and the Fight against ISIS, Kindle Direct Publishing, 2018, 300pp. {{ISBN?}}
• Chapman, Dennis P., Lieutenant Colonel USA, Security Forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Mohammed Najat, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 2011. {{ISSN|0026-3141}} Reviewed by Michael M. Gunter in Middle East Affairs, Vol. 65, No. 3, Summer 2011.

{{Commons category-inline|Kurdish Peshmerga}}

• [http://mope.gov.krd/English/ Official MPA site at Kurdish Regional Government site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710200404/http://mope.gov.krd/English/ |date=July 10, 2020 }}

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