What fate awaits Kurds fighting for the Islamic State?
The future seems desolate — and short — for Kurds who joined IS.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — In the battle for Mosul in Iraq, the Islamic State (IS) is losing power and, simultaneously, its Kurdish fighters, as forces spearheaded by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) peshmerga advance.
Like the Kurds of Turkey, in recent years, Kurds in Iraq, Syria and Iran began identifying with IS. After IS turned Iraq into a battlefield, hundreds of Kurds joined. Kurdish young people became interested in IS not only because of the strengthening Islamic movement in the Kurdistan Region, but also because of social and political crises. According to the KRG's Religious Affairs Department, in the past three years more than 500 people ages 11-25 joined IS from Iraqi Kurdistan alone.
More Kurds are believed to have joined from Iran. So far, about 150 Kurds have been apprehended or have surrendered to Kurdish security forces; some remain within the group. IS made an enormous effort to recruit Kurds and even established a battalion bearing the name of an influential Kurdish commander, Salahaddin Eyyubi. However, because their numbers were few and many were killed in operations, the battalion was abolished.
It's hard for many people to understand why so many Kurds joined IS, which has carried out major attacks against Kurds. Though IS has recruited Kurds heavily, it also has released videos and information that would seem to have the opposite effect.
