Friday, August 17, 2007
Peshmerga sent to Sinjar to restore security
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - A 340-strong Kurdish Peshmerga force was sent to northwestern Iraq's district of Sinjar to restore security and provide protection to the afflicted community, an official Peshmerga source said on Thursday. "The force will remain in the district until the security situation is secure," Peshmerga Commander Maj. Gen. Aziz Waizy told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Four truck bombs were detonated on Tuesday evening in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing and injuring more than 500 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani called on Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior to provide protection for Kurdish minorities and accused a number of countries in the region of being behind the attacks
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Thursday a day of mourning for the victims of the blasts. Sinjar district, 120 km to the northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by the Yazidis, a religious sect whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Four truck bombs were detonated on Tuesday evening in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing and injuring more than 500 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani called on Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior to provide protection for Kurdish minorities and accused a number of countries in the region of being behind the attacks
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Thursday a day of mourning for the victims of the blasts. Sinjar district, 120 km to the northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by the Yazidis, a religious sect whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Labels: Maj. Gen. Aziz Waizy, Peshmerga, Sinjar, Yazidis
