Senior Kurd seeks to allay independence fears

7,000 Islamic State affiliates remain in Iraq

WASHINGTON, July 29, (Agencies): An Iraqi Kurdish leader sought on Friday to allay concerns an independence referendum would hurt the fight against Islamic State, after the US State Department said the planned vote would distract from “more urgent priorities” like the defeat of the militant group.

Speaking in Washington, Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdish government’s Security Council and son of President Barzani, said the government was committed to fighting “terrorism regardless of the political relationship with Baghdad.”

Barzani cited the Kurds’ role in fighting Islamic State. The Kurds play a major role in the US-backed campaign to defeat the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist group that overran about a third of Iraq three years ago and also controls parts of Syria.

The Sept 25 vote could turn into another regional flashpoint and is likely to strain Iraq’s frayed federal unity. Neighbors Syria, Turkey and Iran, who also have sizable Kurdish populations, are all opposed to an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

Germany, a major European ally for the Iraqi Kurds, has said it was concerned the referendum could exacerbate tensions in Iraq.

“Those opponents who say

this is not the right time, my question to them is when is the right time? ... When ISIS invaded parts of Iraq and attacked Kurdistan, once again we were told it’s time of war so it’s not the right time. Now that ISIS is on the verge of collapse we are again being told it is not the right time,” he said.

While saying it appreciated the “legitimate aspirations” of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, the State Department said last month it supports a “unified, federal, stable and democratic Iraq” and had voiced its concerns to Kurdish

authorities.

The Kurds have been seeking an independent state since at least the end of World War One, when colonial powers divided up the Middle East, but their territory ended up split between modern-day Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran.

Meanwhile, high-ranking Iraqi security officials say up to 7,000 Islamic State group affiliates remain in Iraq after the fall of Mosul, where the group’s leader declared the self-styled caliphate three years ago.

Three intelligence and defense officials also told The Associated Press there are an estimated 4,000 militants and 3,000 supporters who were employed by the group and received salaries.

In Syria, there are up to another 7,000 IS militants and 5,000 supporters, they say.

The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

On July 10, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of Mosul, after nine months of highly destructive warfare. IS swept into Mosul in summer 2014 when it conquered much of northern and western Iraq. The extremists declared a caliphate and governed according to a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. The militants rounded up their opponents and killed them en masse, often documenting the massacres with video and photos.

Two days after the declaration of Mosul liberation, Army Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, commander of the

US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria, cautioned that the battle in Iraq is not over. He said he believes Iraqi troops still need time to oust remaining IS fighters from Mosul. Once that is done, he said, they will probably take a break to regroup before launching their fight against the IS in Tal Afar and other remaining insurgent strongholds in western Iraq. IS still controls territories in parts of Ninawa and Anbar governorates, in Hawija in Kirkuk governorate and in pockets elsewhere.