Kurds seize Iraq/Syria border post; Sunni

tribe joins fight against Islamic State

BY ISABEL COLES AND JONNY HOGG-
ARBIL Iraq/MURSITPINAR Turkey Tue Sep 30, 2014
(Reuters) Iraqi Kurdish troops dro!e Islamic State fighters from a strategic border
crossing "ith Syria on #uesday and "on the support of members of a major Sunni
tribe$ in one of the biggest successes since %&S& forces began bombing the fighters&
#he !ictory$ "hich could ma'e it harder for militants to operate on both sides of the
frontier$ "as also achie!ed "ith help from Kurds from the Syrian side of the frontier$ a
ne" sign of cooperation across the border&
Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters too' control of the Rabia border crossing in a battle
that began before da"n$ an Iraqi Kurdish political source said&
(It)s the most important strategic point for crossing& *nce that)s ta'en it)s going to cut
the supply route and ma'e the operation to reach Sinjar easier$( the source said$
referring to a mountain further south "here members of the +azidi minority sect ha!e
been trapped by Islamic State fighters&
#he participation of Sunni tribal fighters in battle against Islamic State could pro!e as
important a de!elopment as the ad!ance itself&
,embers of the influential Shammar tribe$ one of the largest in north"estern Iraq$
joined the Kurds in the fighting$ a tribal figure said&
(Rabia is completely liberated& -ll of the Shammar are "ith the .eshmerga and there is
full cooperation bet"een us$( -bdullah +a"ar$ a leading member of the tribe$ told
Reuters&
/e said the cooperation "as the result of an agreement "ith the president of Iraq)s
Kurdish region after three months of negotiation to join forces against the (common
enemy(&
0aining support from Sunni tribes$ many of "hich either supported or acquiesced in
Islamic State)s 1une ad!ance$ "ould be a crucial objecti!e for the Iraqi go!ernment and
its regional and 2estern allies in the fight against the insurgents&
2I33I30 *45R S%33I #RI65S
2inning o!er Sunni tribes "as a central part of the strategy that helped the %&S&
military defeat a precursor of Islamic State during the (surge( campaign of 7889788:&
2ashington has made clear it hopes the ne" Iraqi go!ernment of .rime ,inister
/aidar al-badi$ "ho too' po"er last month$ can repeat it&
Rabia controls the main high"ay lin'ing Syria to ,osul$ the biggest city in northern
Iraq$ "hich Islamic State fighters captured in 1une at the start of a lightning ad!ance
through Iraq)s Sunni ,uslim north that jolted the ,iddle 5ast&
#"el!e Islamic State fighters) bodies lay on the border at the crossing after the
battle$ said /emin /a"rami head of the foreign relations department of the Kurdistan
;emocratic .arty$ one of the main Iraqi Kurdish parties$ on #"itter&
Syrian Kurdish fighters said they had also joined the battle< (2e are defending
Rabia &&& trying to coordinate action "ith the .eshmerga against Islamic State& It is
true$( said Saleh ,uslim$ head of the Syriabased Kurdish ;emocratic %nion .arty
(.+;)&
If Rabia can be held$ its recapture is one of the biggest successes since %&S&led forces
started bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq in -ugust&
It is one of t"o main border crossings bet"een militantheld parts of the t"o countries$
control of "hich has allo"ed Islamic State to declare a single =aliphate on both sides&
#he other main crossing$ -lbu Kamal on the 5uphrates Ri!er !alley high"ay$ has been
a primary target of %&S& stri'es on both sides of the frontier this past "ee'&#he ability
to cross the frontier freely has been a major tactical ad!antage for Islamic State
fighters on both sides& >ighters s"ept from Syria into northern Iraq in 1une and
returned "ith hea!y "eapons seized from fleeing Iraqi go!ernment troops$ "hich they
ha!e used to e?pand their territory in Syria&
2ashington e?panded the campaign to Syria last "ee' in an effort to defeat the
fighters "ho ha!e s"ept through Sunni areas of both countries$ 'illing prisoners$
chasing out Kurds and ordering Shi)ites and non,uslims to con!ert or die&
In t"o comple?$ multisided ci!il "ars$ the Sunni fighters are battling against Shi)ite
bac'ed go!ernment in both countries$ ri!al Sunni groups in Syria and separate
Kurdish forces on either side of the frontier&
2ashington hopes the stri'es$ conducted "ith help from 5uropean allies in Iraq and
-rab air forces in Syria$ "ill allo" go!ernment and Kurdish forces in Iraq$ and
moderate Sunnis in Syria$ to recapture territory&
In Iraq$ a coalition of Iraqi army$ Shi)ite militia fighters and Kurdish troops 'no"n as
peshmerga ha!e been slo"ly recapturing Sunni !illages that had been under Islamic
State control south of the Kurdishheld oil city of Kir'u'&
(-t da"n today$ t"o !illages near ;aquq$ @8 'ilometres south of Kir'u'$ .eshmerga
forces liberated them from Islamic State$( an Iraqi security official said&
Islamic State fighters had used positions in the !illages to fire mortars at
neighbouring ;aquq$ a to"n populated mainly by ethnic #ur'men Shi)ite
,uslims& 2hen Kurdish fighters entered the !illages they "ere empty$ the security
official said&
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.eshmerga secretarygeneral 1abbar +a"ar estimated the Iraqi Kurds had no" reta'en
around half the territory they lost "hen the militants surged north to"ards the
regional capital -rbil in early -ugust$ an ad!ance that helped to prompt the %&S&
stri'es& (2e ha!e absorbed the shoc' and are pushing them bac'$( +a"ar said&
.eshmerga fighters$ Iraqi army troops and progo!ernment militia "ere ad!ancing
north from the .eshmergaheld city of #uz Khurmatu to dri!e Islamic State fighters
out of the countryside that surrounds Kir'u'$ the official said& /e credited %&S&led air
stri'es "ith helping the peshmerga clear the t"o !illages&
(#his area "itnessed intense air stri'es from %&S&led stri'es and Iraqi air stri'es
o!ernight and at da"n$( the official said&
#he e?plosions shoo' Kir'u' itself< (2e felt the ground sha'ing beneath our feet$ and
then "e heard that there "ere air stri'es outside Kir'u'$( said a policeman in the city
contacted by Reuters "ho as'ed not to be identified&
In addition to aiding the Kurds in the north$ %&S& air stri'es ha!e targeted fighters "est
of 6aghdad and on its southern outs'irts$ difficult rural terrain 'no"n under %&S&
occupation as the (triangle of death(&
(2e belie!e the %&S& air stri'es ha!e helped in containing Islamic State)s momentum$(
said la"ma'er ,o"affa' alRubaie$ a former head of Iraq)s ad!isory security council&
Iraqi officials said %&S& air stri'es$ along "ith stri'es by Iraq)s o"n aircraft$ had 'illed
dozens of Islamic State fighters the pre!ious day south of the capital&
(It appears that 9: (Islamic State) militants "ere 'illed in >adiliya$( said an Iraqi
security source$ referring to a to"n in the 5uphrates !alley south of the capital& /e said
the casualty estimate came from satellite imagery and informants&
#he %&S& military said it had conducted AA air stri'es in Syria and the same number in
Iraq in the pre!ious 7@ hours$ describing a range of targets including Islamic State
tan's$ artillery$ chec'points and buildings&
SI505 I3 S+RI-
%nli'e in Iraq$ "here the %&S&led air stri'es are coordinated closely "ith the
go!ernment and Kurdish forces$ 2ashington has no po"erful allies on the ground in
Syria$ ma'ing its strategy there ris'ier and more precarious&
#he %nited States and its 2estern and -rab allies oppose the go!ernment of .resident
6ashar al-ssad and are "ary of helping him by hurting his enemies& #ur'ey$ the
neighbour "ith the biggest military$ has so far held bac' from joining the %&S&led
coalition$ despite an ad!ance in the past A8 days by Islamic State fighters against Kurds
near the frontier that has caused the fastest refugee e?odus of the threeyear ci!il "ar&
#he fighters ha!e laid siege to Kobani$ a Kurdish city on Syria)s border "ith #ur'ey&
#he rattle of sporadic gunfire could be heard from across the frontier$ and a shell could
be seen e?ploding in oli!e gro!es on the "estern outs'irts of to"n&
- steady stream of people$ mostly men$ "ere crossing the border post bac' into Syria$
apparently to help defend the to"n&
*calan Iso$ deputy commander of the Kurdish forces defending the to"n$ told Reuters
Kurdish troops had battled Islamic State fighters armed "ith tan's through the night
and into #uesday&
#he Syrian *bser!atory for /uman Rights$ a body that monitors the "ar "ith a
net"or' on the ground$ said %&S&led stri'es had hit Islamic State positions "est of
Kobani& Kurdish commanders ha!e complained in recent days that the air stri'es
hitting other parts of Syria "ere not helping them at the front&
#he *bser!atory said Islamic State no" controls B7C out of BC@ !illages on the rural
outs'irts of Kobani&
(-dditional reporting by +ara 6ayoumy$ Raheem Salman and 3ed .ar'er in 6aghdad
and *li!er /olmes in 6eirut; 2riting by 3ed .ar'er and .eter 0raff)
.osted by #ha!am