Syrian Kurds speak Kurmanji. I don't imagine Sorani kurds would have trouble communicating with them.
ISIS in Iraq and Syria
- Thread starter Suli
- Start date
Is Kurmaji different from Badini ? I've only been to Dahuk, Irbil, and Zakho and noticed people from Dahuk and Irbil occasionally had to really focus to understand the other.
How did you manage to visit so many Kurdish cities? Were you in the army?
Yes.
Kurmanji is probably the most common spoken dialect amongst the global Kurdish diaspora. Badini isn't really widely spoken but you do hear it in Duhok and certain clusters of Erbil, so that explains why you heard parts of it there. Sorani is what you mostly hear in Erbil and Sulaiymaniyah..it really ought to be the official dialect but I'm only saying that because I'm lazy and biased.
The official dialect should be Kurmanji, seeing as that's what most of them speak. Erbil wouldn't even be the capital of a great Kurdistan, it would probably be Amed/Diyarbakir.
When Kurdistan becomes independent it probably won't have Amed/Diyarbakir incorporated. Erbil will probably be the first ever Kurdish capital.
The Peshmerga that will go to Kobane:
Stockholm Syndrome?
How are those Peshmerga going to casually move in? I thought the city was under siege?
Through Turkey apparently
The heavy weapons are getting transported by land, the forces themselves by air. They'll collect their weapons once they're both in Turkey. Then they're going to enter via the border crossing which is currently in the hands of YPG/Turkey, and not ISIS.
Looking forward to the videos/photos of ISIS getting pummelled even more.
Odds on the weapons 'missing' or ending up in ISIS hands? Not sure I trust the Turks facilitating their passage.
Its apparently been negotiated between the US and Turkey that the Pesh will get safe passage to Kobani.
It's still Kurds transporting the weapons, so hopefully Turkey just spectates.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Peshmerga didn't exactly cover themselves in glory in the defence of Mount Sinjar did they? Aren't they generally regarded as being a less battle-hardened and effective fighting force than the PKK/YPG?
The Peshmerga haven't really seen much action since their days of being a militia fighting Saddam Hussein for autonomy and to a lesser extent during the early stages of the 2003 Iraq war. So they're not as seasoned or battle-hardened as their YPG compatriots who have been actively fighting for the last 3 years, and the PKK who have been fighting....well forever really.
They're not the same Peshmerga that had the Iraqi army fleeing from the Kurdish mountains decades ago, but they're still capable.
Yeah, they haven't experienced warfare of this type in decades, whilst YPG have been at war for 3 years. But the Peshmerga have the heavy weaponry that is required to turn the tide of the battle. Things like artillery, anti tank weapons and more coordinators for air strikes. I don't think they're even going to be using their AK's.
Shingal was an absolute shambles. The communication there was so bad. They had to retreat because they had no ammo left, which is embarrassing if you're on the front line and defending thousands of civilians. The commanders involved were fired immediately and now that the Pesh have been armed adequately, I expect Shingal to be liberated in the coming weeks. Hopefully...
Shingal was an absolute shambles. The communication there was so bad. They had to retreat because they had no ammo left, which is embarrassing if you're on the front line and defending thousands of civilians. The commanders involved were fired immediately and now that the Pesh have been armed adequately, I expect Shingal to be liberated in the coming weeks. Hopefully...
Weird that coming into this thread causes an advert for meeting single Muslim women to show on my screen.
Could be, but then there's the question of why he's wearing casual clothing as opposed to the orange clothes that ISIS make their prisoner's wear.
Full Documentary on US tv tonight. Apparently implicates Obama and Maliki of having been warned well in advance, but still not having done enough.
I'm not sure - perhaps that's the point though to keep people guessing?
Didn't he say on the first recording there would be 8 recordings then he would be killed? As such if there is a narrative they are going to put over you suspect it will be soon.
Crazy that they took him to Kobane though... You would have thought they were begging for a drone strike.
He said he'll be killed??
ISIS say that today they've almost fully captured kobane but Jenan Moussa says they only have 40/50% of the city.
I think in the third "episode" he referenced the killing of hostages and said he was awaiting his turn.
I guess whilst he is useful they will keep him alive - so I guess he will try to make himself useful?
as this is around 5 days old is there any more up to date info?
Photos of the Peshmerga being welcomed by Kurds along the route as they travel to Kobane:
Why the american flag on the uniform?
That's not their actual military uniform. He probably bought it off a market or something. They were wearing "casual" clothing whilst driving to Kobane.
OK, still weird using the flag of another country.
MERICA
The Iraqi forces are making many advances now on many fronts (Himrin mountains, Al-Muthana Chemical facility and the road between Samarra and Al-Therthar Lake including Al-Therthar Dam, the road between Tikrit and Baiji...). It might not be too long (may be even a couple of weeks) before we hear about another big victory after the one in Jurf Al-Sakhar (and the one in Amerli).
The Iraqi forces have also started to turn their attention to Anbar now (after liberating Jurf Al-Sakhar), and the first priority now is trying to save Amiriyah Al-Fallujah before it falls to ISIS. (ISIS attacked it many times trying to capture it but it's still standing till now). Hopefully they can get there in time.
The Iraqi forces have also started to turn their attention to Anbar now (after liberating Jurf Al-Sakhar), and the first priority now is trying to save Amiriyah Al-Fallujah before it falls to ISIS. (ISIS attacked it many times trying to capture it but it's still standing till now). Hopefully they can get there in time.
Fair play to the kurds and all in regards to fighting and dealing with ISIS, they're somewhat respectable but I just cant help but laugh when I hear of the Iraqi forces making advances. Are you sure they're making proper genuine advances?
Why do they keep dropping their weapons and running only to make advances again? I dont get it
Why do they keep dropping their weapons and running only to make advances again? I dont get it
A pretty good top to bottom assessment of ISIS here
http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf
http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf
Actually I can't help but laugh at ISIS' propaganda. So, what did they say? They're going to capture Baghdad in two days like, ummmm, 4 months ago?
I've already talked about what happened in Mosul. It had nothing to do with a real fight. What happened in Mosul and Tikrit was pre-planned, and it was the result of putting the wrong people in the wrong positions (the surprise factor also played a role to some extent). By eliminating traitors, and putting the right people in the right positions, we all saw what the Iraqi forces can do in ISIS' fortress in Jurf Al-Sakhar. ISIS fighters were running away like rats after a few days of fighting. Same goes for the battle of Amerli.
You can also look at the Baiji Oil refinery which is surrounded by ISIS from all sides (for more than 4 months now) and is very close to one of their strongholds (Baiji), yet it's still standing despite many attempts by ISIS to take it, and nobody ran away and let it fall.
There are other examples but you are not going to hear about them by following the news through only one source.
In fact ISIS hasn't managed to make any significant advances anywhere other than in Anbar (in isolated areas) for a long time, while the Iraqi forces have been making many advances, last of which is the big victory in Jurf Al-Sakhar, and the advances they're making around Baiji and Tikrit right now.
In the end you're entitled to believe what you want to believe. I'm not going to try and convince you about anything, just telling what I know, and what I know is that ISIS are losing now on most fronts. They might gather forces to make a small advance here and there (to use them as propaganda nothing more) which they're even struggling to do right now, but on the big scale, they're quite clearly losing in Iraq right now.
Hopefully this trend continues with the Iraqi forces organizing themselves even better in the coming weeks/months.
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In fairness if you are surrounded on all sides running is not an option anyway... Also given their history with pow / captives surrender is not an appealing prospect either so I imagine they will face stronger resistance now than when they were relatively unknown and more like a localised strike force than an occupying force
Even if that was the reason, then you'll reach the same conclusion, that the Iraqi forces aren't going to "surrender easily" now.
However, that is not the real and main reason (or difference between the refinery and what happened in Mosul and Tikrit), because they still had some time at the beginning (even a couple of days) to run away, or surrender later before ISIS' massacres were made public, but they still held their positions despite heavy attacks by ISIS, and despite the propaganda war that was launched at the time announcing its fall in ISIS' hands like 10 times everyday.
Also, there are other areas where the Iraqi forces can run away, but they showed fierce resistance to repel the attacks. Among those Speicher's Air Base (which was partially seized by ISIS at the beginning), and Tikrit's University (which was completely seized by ISIS, but the Iraqi forces then executed a successful commando operation (I mentioned at the time) to regain control over it). The Iraqi forces stood strong in both points, and now they became the starting point for the advances in the direction of Baiji.
I might post a map later to show the important areas/points and what's happening right now so people can understand better what I'm talking about.
Peshmerga are starting to enter Kobane right now. Every attempt to take the border crossing has failed. 50 FSA fighters have also entered the town, more of a political message rather than having any meaningful military impact.
lol FSA, did they fall out with their ISIS mates?