Peshmerga

As US considers cutting funds from Kurdish forces, concerns rise over stability in Middle East

The Peshmerga have played a key role over the years fighting ISIS and securing the autonomous Kurdistan Region. However, efforts to reform them have not proceeded as planned.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A group of young male and female Peshmergas belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), near one of their bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 35 miles from the Iranian border, on January 17, 2026.
Ghazal Molan, the youngest female Peshmerga opposed to the Islamic Republic, had joined Kurdish armed opposition forces across the border at the age of 18 and died on Tuesday evening.

Ghazal, youngest female Kurdish Peshmerga, dies after IRGC strike and medical neglect

Ghazal Molan, 19, died after being wounded in an IRGC drone strike, amid claims she was denied urgent hospital care before being laid to rest in Sulaymaniyah.

|ByOMID HABIBINIA/THE MEDIA LINE
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks on the day of classified briefings for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, March 3, 2026.

Rubio holds call with Iraqi Kurdish leader, State Department says

The war in Iran has raised oil prices and shaken global markets.

|ByREUTERS
SMOKE RISES from the site of a drone crash on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq, March 12, 2026.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias attack Kurdistan over 450 times since beginning of war

“The attacks, carried out by Iran and its aligned Iraqi militia groups, have killed at least 14 people and wounded 85 others," Erbil-based Rudaw Media Network noted.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq threatens US, Kurdish groups

The militia's threat came as the US Embassy in Israel said it had authorized the departure of non-essential personnel on Friday.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim men from the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah wave the party's flags as they walk along a street painted in the colours of the Israeli flag during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Baghdad

Kurdistan’s security architecture recast as Peshmerga unification continues

The Kurdistan region has its own armed forces, the Peshmerga. Among the largest units are the KDP and PUK, which each have tens of thousands of fighters.

NOVEMBER 18, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A KURDISH peshmerga soldier stands at a lookout near Bashiqa in northern Iraq

US appoints new commander for anti-ISIS mission in Kurdistan

The US also seeks to deter Iran. Iran has backed proxies in Iraq and Syria to attack US forces.

AUGUST 26, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
An ISIS fighter poses in front of an Islamic State flag

Iranian-backed militias accused of targeting Kurds in Iraq

There were no losses among the Kurdish forces.

MARCH 31, 2021BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Shi'ite fighters from Mahdi Army launch rockets during heavy fighting against Islamic state members at Bo Hassan village, near Tikrit in northern Iraq.

‘Look, you can see ISIS down there’: How ISIS operates in Iraq today

"The mountain is desert khaki, and in the sunset it has a bit of haze around it from oil fires in the distance. It’s surreal and beautiful."

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A view of areas where ISIS is still active, from the Kurdish Peshmerga frontline on Mount Qarachogh.

A year after referendum, Kurds in Iraq face Iran and US powerbrokers

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks down the road to Makhmur

Three Kurdish groups in Iran are now fighting the IRGC

Kurdish fighters vow to resist regime's crackdown as groups search for more united strategy amid sanctions on Tehran.

AUGUST 12, 2018BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Kurdish PDKI members on patrol near the Iran-Iraq border last year.

Analysis: Can the Islamic State be defeated?

The Syrian regime army will soon push into the village of Tafas and find itself face-to-face with ISIS fighters.

JULY 7, 2018BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Hezbollah fighters stand near military tanks in Western Qalamoun, Syria

Turkey demands US expel Kurds from anti-ISIS force

Ties between Turkey and the United States have been strained to the breaking point by Washington's support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

FEBRUARY 15, 2018ByREUTERS
A KURDISH Peshmerga soldier holds a Kurdistan flag during an intensive security deployment after clashes with Islamic State militants.

ISIS threatens Iran from 'Tora Bora' borderlands

"Today (ISIS) does not control a country... in order to assert that they exist, they may carry out an attack any day."

FEBRUARY 5, 2018ByREUTERS
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul June 23, 2014.