Editing Peshmerga (section)

==Structure and capabilities==
[[File:pershmega near Syria - June 23, 2014.jpg|thumbnail|right|Peshmerga special unit near the Syrian border on June 23, 2014.]]
The Peshmerga are mostly divided among forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and those loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),<ref name="Helfont2017">{{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}}</ref> while other, minor Kurdish parties such as the [[Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party]] also have their own small Peshmerga units.<ref>{{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}}</ref> The [[Kurdistan Islamic Movement|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.<ref>Kurdish Islamists in Iraq from the Muslim Brotherhood to the So-Called Islamic State: Continuity or Departure?, Mohammed Shareef, 2015, pp. 25, {{ISBN|9786038032657}}</ref> The KDP and PUK do not disclose information about the composition of their forces with government or media.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> Thus there is no reliable number of how many Peshmerga fighters exist.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> Media outlets have speculated that there are between 150,000 and 200,000 Peshmerga, but this number is highly disputed.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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]].<ref>Chapman, Dennis. ''Security Forces of Kurdistan Regional Government'', US Army War College. 2009, p. 3.</ref><ref name="Helfont2017" /><ref name="CMEC" /> Each zone has its own branch of Peshmerga with their own governing institutions that do not coordinate with the other branch.<ref name="CMEC" /><ref>S. R. Valentine, ''Peshmerga: Those Who Face Death'', KDP, 2018, chapter 9.</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Multiple unification and depoliticizing efforts of the Peshmerga have been made since 1992. But so far all deadlines have been missed,<ref name="CMEC" /> reforms have been watered down,<ref name="Helfont2017" /> 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 (2014–2017)|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.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> 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.<ref name="CMEC" />

Both the KDP and the PUK rely heavily on [[Irregular military|irregulars]] in times of conflict to increase their ranks.<ref name="Howard2002">{{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}}</ref> However, both maintain several [[military|professional military]] brigades. The following units have been identified within the Peshmerga force:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Force !! Estimated size !! Commander !! Party affiliation
|-
| Regional Guard Brigades<ref name="Helfont2017" /><ref name="CMEC" />  || 40,000–43,000 || Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs ||Supposedly apolitical
|-
| Hezekani Kosrat Rasul<ref name="CMEC" /> || 2,000–3,000 || [[Kosrat Rasul Ali]] || [[Patriotic Union of Kurdistan|PUK]]
|-
| Anti-terror force<ref name="CMEC" /> || 5,000<ref name="kurdistanskyscrapers.com">{{Cite web|url=http://kurdistanskyscrapers.com/topic/9346414/1/|title=kurdistanskyscrapers.com|website=kurdistanskyscrapers.com}}</ref> || Lahur Shekh Jangi || PUK
|-
| Presidential Peshmerga brigades<ref name="CMEC" /> || unknown || [[Hero Ibrahim Ahmed]] || PUK
|-
| 70 Unit<ref name="CMEC" /><ref name="Helfont2017" /> || 60,000 || Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa || PUK. Supposedly becoming incorporated into MPA<ref name="reform" >{{cite web |title=Peshmerga Ministry reforms launched to reunify PUK, KDP forces |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/310720181 |access-date=31 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
| Emergency Forces<ref name="CMEC" /> || 3,000<ref name="kurdistanskyscrapers.com"/> || unknown || PUK
|-
| PUK Asayish (security) force || unknown || unknown || PUK
|-
| [[Presidential Guard (Iraqi Kurdistan )]]<ref name="CMEC" /> || unknown || [[Nechirvan Barzani]] || KDP
|-
| 80 Unit<ref name="CMEC" /><ref name="Helfont2017" /> || 70,000–90,000 || Najat Ali Salih || KDP. Supposedly becoming incorporated into MPA<ref name="reform" />
|-
| Zerevani<ref name="CMEC" /> || 51,000–120,000 active/250,000 reservists<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/3415.html|access-date=2008-06-06|title=Barzani: Düzenli ordu yakında|work=[[Milliyet]]|date=2007-07-20|first=İhsan|last=Dortkardes|language=ku|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129060057/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/3415.html|archive-date=January 29, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Lortz2015"/> || Masoud Barzani || KDP
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of HPŞ.svg}} [[Êzîdxan Protection Force]]<ref name=orders>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/84c02995-a87c-404f-b24b-94bf453380f3/Haider-Shesho--Ezidkhan-Units-take-orders-from-President-Barzani--peshmerga-Ministry-|title=Haider Shesho: Ezidkhan Units take orders from President Barzani, Peshmerga Ministry|agency=Kurdistan24|author=Baxtiyar Goran|date=9 March 2017}}</ref> || 7,000<ref>[http://ezidipress.com/blog/is-terror-in-shingal-wer-kaempft-gegen-wen-ein-ueberblick/ IS-Terror in Shingal: Wer kämpft gegen wen? Ein Überblick], ''Ezidi Press''. 12 October 2014</ref>–8,000<ref>[http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/iraq-kurdistan-sinjar-liberated-isis-hegemony.html# With the Islamic State gone from Sinjar, Kurdish groups battle for control], Al-Monitor. 27 March 2016</ref> || [[Haydar Shesho]]|| Yazidi Democratic Party, Incorporated into Peshmerga Ministry<ref>{{Cite web|author=Editorial Staff|date=2017-04-18|title=Haider Shesho resigns from PUK, to form new Yazidi Democratic Party|url=https://ekurd.net/haider-shesho-resigns-puk-2017-04-18|access-date=2021-06-21|website=Kurd Net – Ekurd.net Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Assyrians.svg}} [[Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council#Military wing|Nineveh Plain Guard Forces]] or "Christian Peshmerga"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/confidence-and-security-building-measures-nineveh-plains|title=Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in the Nineveh Plains|website=The Washington Institute}}</ref> || 1,500 || unknown || [[Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council]]
|-
| KDP [[Asayish (Kurdistan Regional Government)|Asayish]] (security) force || unknown || Barzan Qassab || KDP
|}

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>Chapman, Dennis. ''Security Forces of Kurdistan Regional Government'', US Army War College. 2009, p. 112.</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

The Peshmerga forces are secular with a Muslim majority and [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] and [[Yazidis|Yazidi]] units.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070120151|title=Mosul Christians form army under Peshmerga direction |agency=Rudaw|access-date=20 March 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Task Force Talon advises, assists Ministry of Peshmerga July 28, 2016.jpg|thumbnail|right|Peshmerga soldiers stand in formation during the Modern Brigade Course graduation ceremony.]]

Peshmerga forces largely rely on old arms captured from battles. The Peshmerga captured stockpiles of weapons during the [[1991 uprisings in Iraq|1991 Iraqi uprisings]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Since August 2014, Peshmerga forces have also captured weapons from the Islamic State.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref name="Helfont2017" /> After the Islamic State offensive of August 2014, multiple governments armed the Peshmerga with  light arms, night goggles, and ammunition.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Helfont2017" />

The Peshmerga lack a proper medical corps and communication units.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> This became apparent during the [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|Islamic State offensive in 2014]] where the Peshmerga found itself lacking ambulances and frontline field hospitals, forcing wounded fighters to walk back to safety.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> There is also a lack of communication tools, as Peshmerga commanders are forced to use civilian cellphones to communicate with each other.<ref name="Helfont2017" /> Under the guidance of the [[Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve|US-led coalition]] the Peshmerga started to standardize its weapons systems, replacing Soviet-era weapons with [[List of 5.56×45mm NATO firearms|NATO firearms]].<ref name="Helfont2017" />