Peshmerga

In an unexpected diplomatic turn of events which underscores the seriousness of escalating tensions between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard (which last week were designated by the US as a terrorist organization), General Qassem Soleimani, arrived in Erbil on Sunday and met with Kurdistan regional president Masoud Barzani to discuss the growing crisis at a moment when Kurdish Peshmerga forces are blocking Iraqi Army access to Kirkuk oil fields and military installations. 

An alleged American ISIS defector walked straight into Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Northern Iraq thinking he had reached the Turkish border. Muhammad Jamal Amin, 27, of Virginia was detained by Kurdish Peshmerga military as he approached a checkpoint near Shingal. Initially the Peshmerga suspected the American to be a suicide bomber and fired warning shots at him. Independent Journal Review reports: Amin instead identified himself as a ISIS defector and wished to turn himself in to Kurdish forces.