The Kurds and the Shiite units have proven ISIL’s most effective opponents, but in Jalawla, the differences between the reluctant brothers in arms could not be papered over.
Months of battling ISIL in the Yazidi city has turned these fresh-face recruits into hardened warriors.
Attacks on Sinjar highlight dangers posed by group’s homemade gas-filled weapons with Kurdish fighters ill-equipped to protect themselves.
But army’s efforts to reform ex-Taliban fighters will likely not be enough to eliminate extremist threat.
As Baghdad is rocked by deadly explosions and political chaos, “drifting” is an increasingly popular way for young men in the Iraqi […]
