KRG slams Iraqi PM over ‘anti-Daesh victory’

By Idris Okuducu, Sibel Ugurlu

ERBIL, Iraq

The Peshmerga Ministry of northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday criticized Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi for ignoring efforts by the Kurdish forces in the victory over the Daesh terrorist group.

On Saturday, al-Abadi announced that the war against Daesh was over, saying Iraqi forces were now in full control of Iraq’s border with Syria.

“The Iraqi Prime Minister declared that the war against Daesh has completed. He said the names of all armed groups without mentioning Peshmerga,” the ministry said in a statement.

More than 1,820 Peshmerga fighters lost their lives and nearly 10,000 others were wounded during the fight against Daesh, the ministry said.

Daesh has recently suffered a string of crushing defeats in both Iraq and Syria after overrunning vast territories in both countries in mid-2014.

Relations have strained between the central government and KRG since the latter held a controversial referendum in September on Kurdish regional independence from Iraq, which Baghdad decried as illegitimate.