Eleven men follow in their father's footsteps to be Peshmerga
WAKE — A Kurdish man has served his nation loyally and achieved his goal of being a commander and defending his homeland. Now, 11 of his sons are following in his footsteps.
“It was my dream to be a Peshmerga commander one day. Thanks to God I am now a commander," said Saeed Abdulghafur.
He is from Wake, north of Mosul. The town is Kurdistani or disputed, claimed by Erbil and Baghdad, and now under the control of the central government.
Their area was in the heart of the ISIS conflict and battle for Mosul. They defended the Kurdistan Region for 4 years.
"Thank God 11 of my sons are Peshmerga with me. They have been fighting against ISIS alongside with the Zeravani forces …" he added.
It has long been a tradition in the Kurdistan Region for families to band together and fight as Peshmerga when required.
"My father told us to go and control a hill under the control of Daesh. Six or seven of us with our cousins went there. We fought from 10 am to 5 pm," said one son Mohammed Saeed.
Peshmerga and officials are concerned that a vacuum between Kurdish and Iraqi forces may foster a bed of extremism for ISIS remnants.
“'We will fight until the last drop of our blood," said Abdulhaziz Saeed.
More than 1,800 Peshmerga gave the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against ISIS. Another 10,000 were wounded.
Reporting by Mehdi Faraj
