Iraq’s Kurdish forces look to a new era after US withdrawal

Kurdish authorities say that militias have merged into one force, but challenges to unity remain.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position south of Erbil, capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, on September 30, 2026 [Safin Hamid/AFP]

Iraq’s Kurdish forces are entering a new era following the withdrawal of US-led international forces that had been in the country to fight ISIL (ISIS).

On Wednesday, the United States announced the formal end of Operation Inherent Resolve, its name for the 12-year-long campaign to defeat ISIL, and the completion of the withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq.

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Other partners in the war against the armed group also withdrew from Iraq, in accordance with a September 30 deadline set by Washington and Baghdad two years prior.

For years, Iraq’s Kurdish forces – known as the Peshmerga – have relied on close military support from coalition forces, and the US in particular, to safeguard their autonomy and defend against ISIL.

Their withdrawal has posed new political and security challenges for Iraq. Where does the Peshmerga stand today?

The challenge of unification

Days before the coalition’s withdrawal, on September 21, the Erbil-based Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) – which presides over Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region – announced that it had finally merged Kurdish armed factions into a unified fighting force.

In his speech at the ceremony marking the event, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani characterised it as a major national step towards consolidating the region’s institutions.

“Kurdistan needs one force, one ministry, and one command,” he said. “The Peshmerga must be a national force, free from party interference and disputes. Today, we take a major step towards achieving this goal.”

Barzani announced that the militias affiliated with his Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and its historic rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were now under one structure. The KDP and PUK represent the two dominant Kurdish Iraqi factions.

Zeidon Alkinani, a Middle East political analyst and founding director of the Doha-based Arab Perspectives Institute, told Al Jazeera that the unification would help stabilise Iraq.

“Iraq’s most damaging rivalries have been within communities, intra-Shia and intra-Kurdish, not between them,” he said.

He says reducing the role of the Erbil-based KDP and the Sulaymaniyah-based PUK party structures within the Peshmerga “strengthens Iraq’s stability and gives Erbil firmer legal footing with Baghdad”.

However, the work is far from finished. Barzani, in his speech, warned that the unification marked the start of a phase that “may be even more difficult” than past Kurdish struggles, requiring the Peshmerga to stand above party loyalties.

“The test is whether [unification] survives, given the persistence of two geographically distinct commands”, Alkinani says.

Retired Lieutenant General Jabbar al-Yawar, former secretary general of the Ministry of Peshmerga in the KRG, told Al Jazeera that these parties were embroiled in a number of political disputes, including governance of Kurdistan and relations with Baghdad.

These disputes, he says, could extend to military institutions if the forces remain tied to political parties.

Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region President Nechirvan Barzani [File:Azad Lashkari/Reuters]

On the ground, the Ministry of Peshmerga insists that its forces are ready for the new era.

Spokesperson Major General Othman Mohammed told Al Jazeera that the Peshmerga “has always been on full alert,” touting its role in repelling the ISIL in 2014 despite having limited means.

He pointed to the relationship between the Peshmerga and Iraq’s other security forces, noting that commanders from both sides enjoyed very good cooperation and coordination.

This coordination has become more important now that the international coalition has ended its mission, with Iraqis now relying on their own capabilities to detect and stop ISIL activity.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the Qarachogh mountain in the Makhmur district, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Erbil, on September 30, 2026 [Safin Hamid/AFP]

Despite this readiness, Mohammed Salih, a non-resident senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute and an expert on Iraqi and regional affairs, says there is “considerable uncertainty and concern among Kurds surrounding the US withdrawal”.

Many are asking whether the departure of US troops means the end of Washington’s commitment to Kurdish security, he told Al Jazeera, given that the US has been “a key security guarantor for the Kurdistan region for the past three decades”.

Importantly, the US took with it key air defence systems when it withdrew, creating serious concern for Erbil, which has come under several drone and missile attacks since the start of the US war on Iran.

Erbil has signalled its intention to continue cooperating with Baghdad as before, under Iraq’s federalist framework.

The day after coalition forces withdrew, KDP leader and former KRG President Masoud Barzani touted “very strong coordination with the Iraqi federal government to confront any kind of threat or danger, whether it comes under the name of ISIS or any other name”.

In Baghdad, he backed the federal government’s efforts to fight corruption, disarm Iran-aligned militias and settle outstanding disputes with Erbil under the constitution.

Iraqi federalism and unity “depend on communication, coordination and respect for the rule of law among political parties, not on foreign troops”, Alkinani of the Arab Perspectives Institute said, in relation to the coalition withdrawal.

Baghdad faced a dilemma when Washington demanded it disarm Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups. The armed groups refused, pointing to the US presence in Iraq even as it waged war on Iran.

The withdrawal may help the cause of federalism by removing this justification, he said, “but only if Iraqis replace it with dialogue and law rather than force”.

Supporters of Iran-aligned armed factions gather for a rally celebrating the withdrawal of forces of the US-led coalition against ISIL from Iraq, in Baghdad on September 30, 2026 [Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP]

库尔德当局称各民兵组织已合并成一支部队，但团结仍然面临挑战。

2026年9月30日，库尔德自由战士在伊拉克北部半自治库尔德地区首府埃尔比勒以南占据阵地。[Safin Hamid/AFP]

随着以美国为首的国际部队撤出伊拉克，伊拉克库尔德武装进入了一个新时代。这些国际部队此前一直在伊拉克打击伊斯兰国（ISIS）。

周三，美国宣布正式结束“坚定决心行动”（Operation Inherent Resolve），这是美国为打击“伊斯兰国”（ISIL）而发起的为期 12 年的军事行动的名称，并宣布完成从伊拉克撤军。

（共 3 项，第 1 项）：伊拉克能否独自应对未来的安全挑战？

五角大楼称美军已从伊拉克撤军完成（共3份清单，此为第2份）。

伊拉克庆祝主权日，美军完成撤离（共3条，此为第3条）

根据华盛顿和巴格达两年前设定的9月30日最后期限，其他参与打击该武装组织的伙伴也从伊拉克撤军。

多年来，伊拉克库尔德武装（又称佩什梅加）一直依靠联军（尤其是美国）的密切军事支持来维护其自治权并抵御“伊斯兰国”。

他们的撤离给伊拉克带来了新的政治和安全挑战。如今库尔德武装的处境如何？

统一的挑战

在联军撤离前几天，9 月 21 日，总部位于埃尔比勒的库尔德斯坦地区政府（KRG，管辖伊拉克半自治的库尔德斯坦地区）宣布，它已最终将库尔德武装派别合并成一支统一的战斗力量。

在纪念这一事件的仪式上，库尔德斯坦地区政府主席内奇尔万·巴尔扎尼发表讲话，称这是国家为巩固该地区机构而迈出的重要一步。

他说：“库尔德斯坦需要一支统一的部队、一个统一的部委和一个统一的指挥部。库尔德自由战士必须是一支民族部队，不受党派干涉和纷争的影响。今天，我们朝着实现这一目标迈出了重要一步。”

巴尔扎尼宣布，隶属于他领导的库尔德民主党（KDP）及其历史对手库尔德斯坦爱国联盟（PUK）的民兵组织现已合并为一个统一的组织。库尔德民主党和库尔德斯坦爱国联盟是伊拉克库尔德人两大主要派别。

中东政治分析家、总部位于多哈的阿拉伯视角研究所创始主任泽顿·阿尔基纳尼告诉半岛电视台，统一将有助于稳定伊拉克。

他说：“伊拉克最具破坏性的敌对行动发生在社区内部，什叶派内部和库尔德人内部，而不是社区之间。”

他表示，削弱埃尔比勒的库尔德民主党和苏莱曼尼亚的库尔德斯坦爱国联盟在库尔德武装中的作用，“加强了伊拉克的稳定，并使埃尔比勒与巴格达之间拥有更稳固的法律基础”。

然而，这项工作远未结束。巴尔扎尼在讲话中警告说，统一标志着一个阶段的开始，这个阶段“可能比库尔德人以往的斗争更加艰难”，这要求库尔德武装（佩什梅加）超越党派忠诚，保持客观中立。

“考验在于，在两个地理位置不同的指挥部持续存在的情况下，（统一）能否存续”，阿尔基纳尼说道。

库尔德斯坦地区政府佩什梅加部前秘书长、退役中将贾巴尔·亚瓦尔告诉半岛电视台，这些政党卷入了一系列政治争端，包括库尔德斯坦的治理以及与巴格达的关系。

他表示，如果军队继续与政党保持联系，这些争端可能会蔓延到军事机构。

伊拉克半自治库尔德斯坦地区总统内奇万·巴尔扎尼[文件：Azad Lashkari /路透社]

在地面上，库尔德武装部坚称其部队已为新时代做好准备。

发言人奥斯曼·穆罕默德少将告诉半岛电视台，库尔德武装“一直处于高度戒备状态”，并称赞其在2014年击退“伊斯兰国”的行动中发挥了作用，尽管当时库尔德武装的资源有限。

他指出库尔德武装与伊拉克其他安全部队之间的关系，并表示双方指挥官之间保持着非常好的合作与协调。

随着国际联军结束其任务，这种协调变得更加重要，伊拉克人现在依靠自身能力来发现和阻止“伊斯兰国”的活动。

2026年9月30日，库尔德自由战士在埃尔比勒以南约60公里（37英里）的马赫穆尔区卡拉乔格山上占据阵地。[Safin Hamid/AFP]

尽管库尔德人做好了撤军准备，但美国外交政策研究所非常驻高级研究员、伊拉克和地区事务专家穆罕默德·萨利赫表示，“库尔德人对美国撤军存在相当大的不确定性和担忧”。

他告诉半岛电视台，鉴于美国在过去三十年中一直是“库尔德斯坦地区的关键安全保障者”，许多人都在质疑美军撤离是否意味着华盛顿对库尔德安全的承诺就此结束。

重要的是，美国撤军时带走了关键的防空系统，这引起了埃尔比勒的严重担忧，自美国对伊朗发动战争以来，埃尔比勒已经遭受了多次无人机和导弹袭击。

埃尔比勒方面已表示，将继续像以前一样，在伊拉克的联邦制框架下与巴格达开展合作。

联军撤离后的第二天，库尔德斯坦民主党领导人、前库尔德斯坦地区政府主席马苏德·巴尔扎尼吹嘘说，他们“与伊拉克联邦政府进行了非常强有力的协调，以应对任何威胁或危险，无论它以ISIS的名义还是以任何其他名义出现”。

在巴格达，他支持联邦政府打击腐败、解除伊朗支持的民兵武装以及根据宪法解决与埃尔比勒之间悬而未决的争端。

阿拉伯展望研究所的阿尔基纳尼在谈到联军撤离时表示，伊拉克的联邦制和团结“取决于各政党之间的沟通、协调和对法治的尊重，而不是外国军队”。

当华盛顿要求伊拉克解除与伊朗结盟的伊拉克武装组织的武装时，巴格达面临两难境地。这些武装组织拒绝了华盛顿的要求，并指出美国在伊拉克驻军的同时，还在对伊朗发动战争。

他表示，撤军或许有助于联邦制事业，因为它消除了这种理由，“但前提是伊拉克人必须用对话和法律而不是武力来取代它”。

2026年9月30日，伊朗支持的武装派别在巴格达举行集会，庆祝美国领导的打击“伊斯兰国”联盟的部队撤出伊拉克。[Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP]