Editing Peshmerga (section)

{{Short description|Internal security forces of Iraq's Kurdistan Region}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}
{{Infobox national military
| name = Peshmerga
| native_name = {{lang|ku|پێشمەرگه|rtl=yes}}
| image = Flag of Kurdistan.svg
| caption = Flag of [[Kurdistan Region]]
| motto = ''[[Ey Reqîb]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds of Christians join Peshmerga|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/33ec84f9-5889-4d6e-8f97-affa72db3694/Hundreds-of-Christians-join-Peshmerga- |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Kurdistan24 |date=19 February 2016}}</ref>
| founded = 1920s/1946
| current_form = 2003–present
| headquarters = [[Erbil]], [[Kurdistan Region]], Iraq
| commander-in-chief = [[Nechirvan Barzani|Nêçîrvan Barzanî]]
| commander-in-chief_title = [[President of Kurdistan Region]]
| chief minister = [[Şoreş Îsmaîl Abdulla|Ŝořiŝ îsmaâîl Âebidułah]]
| chief minister_title = Minister of Peshmerga Affairs
| conscription = None
| active = 150,000 (see [[Peshmerga#Structure and capabilities|§ Structure]])<ref>{{Citation |title=Iraq |date=2024-05-31 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/#military-and-security |access-date=2024-06-08 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>
| age = 21–41
| foreign_suppliers = {{Collapsible list
| title = Current:
|{{flag|Albania}}<ref name="jcpa">{{cite news |title=The Status of Western Military Aid to Kurdish Peshmerga Forces |url=http://jcpa.org/article/the-status-of-western-military-aid-to-kurdish-peshmerga-forces/ |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs}}</ref><br />{{flag|Australia}}<ref name="australia">{{cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Ruth |title=Australian-supplied weapons have reached the Kurdish frontline |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/australiansupplied-weapons-have-reached-the-kurdish-frontline-20140911-10ffla.html |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=11 September 2014 |language=en}}</ref><br />{{flag|Austria}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Austria to provide Peshmerga with medical support |url=http://poland.gov.krd/austria-to-provide-peshmerga-with-medical-support/ |access-date=26 July 2019}}</ref><br />{{flag|Belgium}}<ref name="belgium">{{cite news |title=L'aide belge aux Peshmergas est prête à partir vers l'Irak |url=https://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/detail_l-aide-belge-aux-peshmergas-est-prete-a-partir-vers-l-irak?id=9222692 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=RTBF Info |date=24 February 2016 |language=fr}}</ref><br />{{flag|Bulgaria}}<ref>{{cite news |title=България е изпратила на кюрдите в Ирак автомати и патрони за 6 млн. лева |url=https://www.mediapool.bg/bulgaria-e-izpratila-na-kyurdite-v-irak-avtomati-i-patroni-za-6-mln-leva-news225406.html |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Mediapool.bg |date=30 September 2014 |language=bg-BG}}</ref><br />{{flag|Canada}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|Croatia}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|Cyprus}}<ref name="cyprus">{{cite news |title=Cyprus could send more light arms, ammunition to Kurdistan: FM |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/4c3de48d-b53f-4ae1-8602-8b0b28249879 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Kurdistan24 |date=11 November 2017 |language=en}}</ref><br />{{flag|Czech Republic}}<ref name="czechia">{{cite news |title=Czech Rifles and Ammunition for the Peshmerga. Prague Supporting the Fight Against Daesh Again – Defence24.com |url=https://www.defence24.com/czech-rifles-and-ammunition-for-the-peshmerga-prague-supporting-the-fight-against-daesh-again |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=www.defence24.com |date=27 January 2016 |language=cs}}</ref><br />{{flag|Denmark}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Forsvarsavisen 01 |url=https://www2.forsvaret.dk/omos/publikationer/forsvarsavisen/Documents/Forsvarsavisen_01_2015.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Defense |access-date=3 July 2019 |page=3 |language=da}}</ref><br />{{flag|Estonia}}<ref name="iss">{{cite journal |author1=Jan Joel Andersson and Florence Gaub |title=Adding fuel to the fire? Arming the Kurds |journal=Issue Alert |date=2015 |volume=37 |url=https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Alert_37_Kurds.pdf |access-date=3 July 2019}}</ref><br />{{flag|Finland}}<ref name="finland">{{cite news |title=Finland increases military support to Kurdistan |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/35196208-14f6-41a2-888d-645dd997e9fd/Finland-increases-military-support-to-Kurdistan- |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Kurdistan24 |date=16 September 2016 |language=en}}</ref><br />{{flag|France}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|Germany}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|Greece}}<ref name="greece" >{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/iraqi-kurdistan/145285/greece-to-send-ammunition-to-iraqi-kurds|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922174314/http://www.worldbulletin.net/iraqi-kurdistan/145285/greece-to-send-ammunition-to-iraqi-kurds|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 22, 2015|title=Greece to send ammunition to Iraqi Kurds|access-date=27 September 2014}}</ref><br />{{flag|Hungary}}<ref name="iss" /><br />{{flag|India}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Assistant Head of DFR and Indian Ambassador discuss areas of cooperation |url=https://dfr.gov.krd/a/d.aspx?l=12&a=46772 |access-date=8 July 2019 |work=dfr.gov.krd |date=20 April 2017 |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617100546/https://dfr.gov.krd/a/d.aspx?l=12&a=46772 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />{{flag|Iran}}<ref name="israel" /><br />{{flag|Israel}}<ref name="israel" >{{cite book |author1=Arash Reisinezhad |title=The Shah of Iran, the Iraqi Kurds, and the Lebanese Shia |date=2018 |isbn=978-3319899473 |page=115|publisher=Springer }}</ref><br />{{flag|Italy}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|Netherlands}}<ref name="nlno" >{{cite web |title=Dutch and Norwegians train Peshmerga on basic soldier skills |url=https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/igphoto/2001689688/ |website=www.centcom.mil |access-date=3 July 2019}}</ref><br />{{flag|New Zealand}}<ref name="weiss" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mosul |first1=Martin Chulov near |title=Kurdish forces vow no retreat until Nineveh plains are retaken from Isis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/20/kurdish-forces-vow-no-retreat-until-nineveh-plains-are-retaken-from-isis |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=20 October 2016}}</ref><br />{{flag|Norway}}<ref name="nlno" /><br />{{flag|Romania}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hasan |first1=H. A. |title=Romania Pledges Continuous Support for Peshmerga |url=http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/277154 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=www.basnews.com |date=21 May 2016 |language=en-gb}}</ref><br />{{flag|Russia}}<ref name="russia">{{cite news |last1=Litovkin |first1=Nikolai |title=Russia delivers first weapons supplies to Iraqi Kurds |url=https://www.rbth.com/defence/2016/03/18/russia-delivers-first-weapons-supplies-to-iraqi-kurds_576809 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Russia Beyond |date=18 March 2016}}</ref><br />{{flag|Slovakia}}<ref name="weiss">{{cite news |author1=Guido Weiss |title=Global Support for Peshmerga Forces |url=http://kurdstrat.com/2015/07/08/global-support-for-peshmerga-forces/ |access-date=3 July 2019 |agency=Kurdstrat |date=8 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103141502/http://kurdstrat.com/2015/07/08/global-support-for-peshmerga-forces/|archive-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><br />{{flag|Slovenia}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Inherent Resolve in northern Iraq |url=http://www.slovenskavojska.si/en/international-cooperation/international-operations-and-missions/iraq-oir/#c3128 |access-date=3 July 2019 |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617100619/http://www.slovenskavojska.si/en/international-cooperation/international-operations-and-missions/iraq-oir/#c3128 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />{{flag|Sweden}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Sweden will continue support for Peshmerga forces in Kurdistan: Defense Minister |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/6b8eab4f-fed9-4bb2-bfde-af7f47839295 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=Kurdistan24 |date=10 May 2018 |language=en}}</ref><br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref name="jcpa" /><br />{{flag|United States}}<ref name="jcpa" />
}}{{Collapsible list
| title = Former:
| {{flag|Czechoslovakia}}<ref name="Mitrokhin" >{{cite book |title=The Mitrokhin archive. II : the KGB and the world |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=978-0141977980}}</ref><br />{{flag|Soviet Union}}<ref name="Mitrokhin" />}}
| imports = 
| exports = <!-- Related articles -->
| history = {{tree list}}
* '''Before 2003:'''
** [[Mahmud Barzanji revolts]]
** [[Ahmed Barzani revolt]]
** [[1943 Barzani revolt]]
** [[First Iraqi–Kurdish War]]
*** [[Battle of Zawita Valley]]
*** [[Battle of Lomana]]
*** [[Battle of Mount Handrin]]
** [[Second Iraqi–Kurdish War]]
** [[PUK insurgency]]
** [[Iran–Iraq War]]
** [[1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions in Iraq|1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions]]
** [[Kurdistan Region–PKK conflict]]
** [[Anfal campaign]]
** [[Gulf War]]
** [[1991 Iraqi uprisings]]
** [[Battle of Sulaymaniyah (1991)|Battle of Sulaymaniyah]]
** [[Iraqi Kurdish Civil War|Kurdish Civil War]]
** [[Islamist insurgency in Iraqi Kurdistan|Islamist insurgency in Kurdistan]]
* '''After 2003:'''
** [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]
** [[Operation Viking Hammer]]
** [[Iraq War|First Iraq War]]
** [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)]]
** [[Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)]]
** [[Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)]]
** [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)]]
** [[US intervention in the Syrian civil war]]
** [[2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict]]
**[[Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)]]
** [[Kurdistan Region–PKK conflict]]
** [[Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria (2023–present)]]
{{tree list/end}}
| website = {{URL|https://gov.krd/mopa}}
| domestic_suppliers = {{flag|Iraq|name=Republic of Iraq}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Iraq supplies Kurds with ammunition in unprecedented move, U.S. says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-usa-ammunition/iraq-supplies-kurds-with-ammunition-in-unprecedented-move-u-s-says-idUSKBN0G82BP20140809 |access-date=26 July 2019 |work=Reuters |date=9 August 2014 |language=en}}</ref>
}}

The '''Peshmerga''' ({{langx|ku|پێشمەرگه|Pêşmerge|lit='Those Who Face Death'}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Peshmerga and the Ongoing Fight against ISIS |url=https://kurdistantribune.com/peshmerga-and-the-ongoing-fight-against-isis/ |access-date=31 July 2018 |date=27 March 2016 |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183200/https://kurdistantribune.com/Peshmerga-and-the-ongoing-fight-against-isis/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> are the internal security forces of [[Kurdistan Region]]. 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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iraq_2005.pdf?lang=en|title=Constitution of Iraq}}</ref> Other Kurdish security agencies include the [[Zeravani|Zêrevanî]] ([[gendarmerie]]), [[Asayish (Kurdistan Region)|Asayish]] ([[Security agency|security and]] [[counterterrorism]] service), and the ''[[Parastin u Zanyari|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 Empire|Ottoman Turks]] and the [[Safavid]] [[Kurds]]. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.<ref name="Lortz2015">{{cite thesis |last1=Lortz |first1=Michael G. |date=2005 |title=Willing to Face Death: A History of Kurdish Military Forces – the ''Peshmerga'' – from the Ottoman Empire to Present-Day Iraq |type=MA thesis |publisher=Florida State University |url=http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-1038 |language=en}}</ref>

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 [[Kurdistan Democratic Party|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.<ref name="CMEC">{{cite journal|last1=van Wilgenburg|first1=Wladimir|last2=Fumerton|first2=Mario|title=Kurdistan's Political Armies: The Challenge of Unifying the Peshmerga Forces.|journal=Carnegie Middle East Center|date=16 December 2015|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/files/ACMR_WilgenburgFumerton_Kurdistan_English_final.pdf|access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Manish |last=Rai |title=Kurdish Peshmerga Can Be a Game-changer in Iraq And Syria |url=http://www.khaama.com/kurdish-peshmerga-can-be-a-game-changer-in-iraq-and-syria-6802 |work=[[Khaama Press]] |date=6 October 2014 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Operation Red Dawn's eight-month hunt |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/15/1071336860245.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=15 December 2003 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theweek.com/article/index/243389/how-the-cia-really-caught-bin-ladens-trail#axzz34IzUbxqb |last=Ambinder |first=Marc |title=How the CIA really caught Bin Laden's trail |newspaper=[[The Week]] |date=29 April 2013 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Arom |last=Roston |title=Cloak and Drone: The Strange Saga of an Al Qaeda Triple Agent |url=http://www.vocativ.com/usa/nat-sec/cloak-drone-strange-saga-al-qaeda-triple-agent/ |work=[[Vocativ]] |date=9 January 2014 |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-date=June 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625232507/https://www.vocativ.com/usa/nat-sec/cloak-drone-strange-saga-al-qaeda-triple-agent/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Valentine, ''Peshmerga: Those who Face Death'', 2018, chapter five.</ref> One year later, in 2012, Ghul was assassinated by an [[Drone strikes in Pakistan|American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-10-17 |title=NSA 'Working With CIA' On Drone Strikes |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/us-drone-cia-nsa/25139547.html |access-date=2025-05-22 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref>