Kurdish soldiers arrive to secure Baghdad

Courtesy Photo | The Irbil-based 2nd Iraqi Army Division stood in a square formation while Gen. Babakir Zebari, Chief Joint Forces Iraq, spoke to them about their country's need for them to be in Baghdad and the brotherhood between them, regardless of which province they called home and where they went to, they were always Iraqis first. (Spc. Abel Trevino)  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

02.26.2007

Courtesy Story

28th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Abel Trevino
28th Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD - Soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Army Division from Irbil arrived Feb. 25 to assist in securing Baghdad Operation Fardth - Al Kanoon, aimed at capturing insurgents and providing security for the Baghdad populace.

Pilots from the Iraqi Air Force flew in more than 100 soldiers from the Kurdish Autonomous Region to participate in the mission, demonstrating the country's unity and the military's growing self-sufficiency.

Capt. Ahmed Moaid Kudhir, company commander for the incoming unit, said that even though his soldiers were not from the Baghdad area, they were united as one - Iraqis first.

"There is no division about Shi'ites or Sunnis," he said. "We are here fighting terrorism, any militia that is illegal. We are not targeting groups, we are targeting terrorists."

The decision to bring elements from the northern-based division to help secure Baghdad was mutual between Iraqi leadership in Irbil and Baghdad.

"This is an Iraqi plan," said Col. Shawkat, Iraqi Ground Forces Commander public affairs officer. "These are Iraqi forces coming here on an Iraqi Airplane, transported by Iraqi personnel."

On hand to greet the troops was the Chief Joint Forces Iraq, Gen. Babakir Zebari, who reassured the troops that the country was unified behind them and their mission was beneficial to all Iraqis.

"These soldiers are not coming as (Kurdish fighters), they are coming as Iraqi soldiers, as the Iraqi Army," Zebari said.

Zebari also addressed the issue of a potential language barrier between the two dialects of Arabic.

"There is no problem with the language," he said adamantly. "All of us are Iraqis and all of us speak Arabic. (These soldiers) speak two (Arabic dialects). We are one nation! One country!"

The soldiers were promptly moved to the Besmaya Range Center to qualify in a variety of city warfare and urban operation procedures. The intensive training ensures a verified standard of their capabilities both as individuals and as a unit.

• Date Taken: 02.26.2007
• Date Posted: 02.26.2007 09:00
• Story ID: 9237
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ