Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi hits Peshmerga position in error

By Arif Yusuf and Amir al-Saadi

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi forces on Friday admitted to having mistakenly struck a position held by Kurdish Peshmerga in the Sinjar district west of Mosul.

"The Peshmerga are an integral component of the Iraqi armed forces," Hashd al-Shaabi spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi stressed in a subsequent statement.

"They are our brothers; they are essential partners in the fight against terrorism," he added.

Al-Assadi went on to note that the incident in Sinjar would be investigated.

Earlier Friday, Serbest Lezgin, Peshmerga commander in Sinjar, said Hashd al-Shaabi forces had shelled Peshmerga positions between Tal Afar city and Sinjar.

"A Peshmerga fighter was injured in the attack," Lezgin told Anadolu Agency. "This is the fifth such assault by the Hashd al-Shaabi on Peshmerga positions."

After defeating Daesh and PKK terrorists earlier, Peshmerga forces now control the northwestern Sinjar district, located near Iraq’s border with Syria.

The government of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has demanded that the PKK withdraw all its fighters from Sinjar. It has also called on the Hashd al-Shaabi to halt all attacks, saying these only serve to raise tension in the region.

Established three years ago with the express purpose of fighting Daesh, the Hashd al-Shaabi is an umbrella of pro-government Shia fighting groups.

Last December, Iraqi President Fuad Masum approved legislation calling for the group’s formal incorporation into the Iraqi armed forces.