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# Kurdistan Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (Iraq)

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Last modified: 2026-05-09 by ian macdonald
Keywords: ministry of peshmerga affairs |
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image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.aa.com.tr located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

- Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs
- Logo
- 1st Support Forces Command
- 1st Support Forces Command Artillery
- 2nd Support Forces Command
- Counter-Terrorism Group

See also:

- Iraq
- Index of Iraq Pages

## Kurdistan Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs

The military armed factions of the Iraqi Kurdistan parties are labeled in general Peshmerga. The earliest formed of armed combatants date as far back as 1920. Currently, there are Peshmerga forces for both leading parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The MoPA (Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs) was established following the creation of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Iraq in the early 1990s as an attempt to place the Peshmerga under a unified civilian authority. Based on the 50-50 power sharing principle the KDP and PUK passed Law No. 5 transforming the Peshmerga into a regular armed force under the MoPA and prohibiting political parties from maintaining private militias. In practice, however, the ministry held little real power, as the armed forces remained divided between the KDP and the PUK. This lack of centralized control became evident during the Kurdish civil war (1994–1997), when the two parties used their separate Peshmerga forces against each other. After the conflict, the 1998 Washington Agreement, the 2006 KRG unification agreement following the fall of Saddam Hussein the Peshmerga were politically recognized and obtained a special legal position. This improvement came from the Coalition Provisional Authority with issuing orders that recognized the Peshmerga and exempted them from disbandment. However, the decision was preceded by disagreements between Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani and the U.S. Administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, who regarded the continued existence of the Peshmerga as a "red line" in the formation of the new Iraqi state.

Peshmerga units collaborated closely with U.S. forces on patrols, interrogations, and security missions. At one point, the Peshmerga made up 30% of the new Iraqi Army. In the years after, tensions remained high, but both parties came closer to each other, and in 2003 both of them jointly took part in the overthrowing of the Baathist regime as part of the Iraq War and the broader Global War on Terror.

The CIA and other US special forces, who arrived in Iraq in early 2002, conducted unconventional warfare operations with the Peshmerga against Ansal al-Islam terrorists. Furthermore Peshmerga were organized to form a 'northern Front' against Saddam Hussein's troops. As the bombing campaign and subsequent invasion of Iraq began, Peshmerga forces, operating alongside U.S. Special Forces, advanced beyond the Kurdistan Region and took control of large areas that were widely regarded as Kurdish but had previously been outside Kurdish control. These areas included Sinjar, Tuz Khurmatu, Khanaqin, and Kirkuk. By tying down Saddam Hussein’s 5th Division in northern Iraq, the Peshmerga, helped facilitate the coalition’s invasion of southern Iraq and reduced the number of Iraqi forces available to oppose coalition operations elsewhere, likely saving hundreds if not thousands of lives. The Peshmerga also played a key role in helping the United States on the mission to capture Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Later on the organisational reunification of the parties’ separate Peshmerga ministries in 2009, the MoPA was gradually revitalized. Under the Multinational Forces in Iraq and Article 117 of the new 2005 Iraqi Constitution the Peshmerga was legalized as one of the permissible regional groups responsible for security in the "Kurdistan Regional Government". This was done mainly in 2022 with full unification to be implemented by 2026.
The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs is then part of the KRG and has basically two main military Units:
1) Regional Guard Brigades (Kurdish: لشكری پشتیوانی هەرێمی, romanized: Leshkrey Piştîwanî Herêmî, RGBs) (most likely affiliated with the KDP)
2) 1st Support Forces Command (Kurdish: هێزەکانی پشتیوانی یەک, romanized: Hêzekanî Piştîwanî Yek, SFC) or First Support Forces (most likely affiliated with the PUK)
Then there are the Regional Guard Brigades (Kurdish: لشكری پشتیوانیهەرێمی, romanized: Leshkrey Piştîwanî Herêmî, RGBs) which were created as part of efforts to unify the party-based Peshmerga forces under a more centralized command. Numbering several dozen brigades, they are formally under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (MoPA), though in practice many remain aligned with the two dominant Kurdish political parties, the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Additionally, there's the Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) or Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Unit, which is an elite special forces unit and the primary investigative arm of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The unit was established by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's (PUK) intelligence service (called Ajansî Zanyari) in 2002 with support from the United States and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in response to the growing influence and threat coming from Ansar al-Islam ( https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sy}aai.html ). In fact, during Operation Viking Hammer (March 2003) they contributed to the dissolution of the Islamic Emirate of Kurdistan (2001-2003)
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Emirate_of_Kurdistan) led by Ansar al-Islam and the Kurdistan Justice Group
Sources:
https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/SIPRIYB0402.pdf
https://www.clingendael.org/pub/2018/fighting-for-kurdistan/2-the-evolution-of-the-peshmerga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshmerga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Viking_Hammer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Peshmerga_Affairs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Guard_Brigades
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Support_Forces_Command
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Support_Forces_Command

For additional information go to Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (official website): https://gov.krd/mopa

Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

## Logo

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Peshmerga_Affairs located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

## 1st Support Forces Command

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.dvidshub.net located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

Picture caption reads: "IRAQ 01.13.2025 Photo by Master Sgt. Raymond Boyington Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve Peshmerga Lt. Gen. Sihad Barzani, 1st Support Forces Command Headquarters (1SFC HQ) commander, poses with Coalition advisors for a group photo during a key leader engagement in northern Iraq, Jan. 14, 2025. Coalition advisors assessed the progress of sustainment and training initiatives as well as proposed unification of subordinate units for better command and control at the Peshmerga 1SFC HQ. These developments and engagements enable partner forces to better conduct unilateral operations against ISIS. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Ray Boyington)"

Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

### Logo

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/farmandai.Hezakani.pishtewane1 located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

## 1st Support Forces Command Artillery

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/farmandai.Hezakani.pishtewane1 located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

### Logo

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/qader.mohammad.77 located by Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

It reads: "فه
رمانده ی له شكرى كوردستان فه رمانده یی هیزه کانی پشتیوانی ۱ SUPPORTING FORCES COMMAND 1" (English: Kurdistan Army Commander SUPPORTING FORCES COMMAND)

Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

## 2nd Support Forces Command

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/Hezakani.pshtiwany2 located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

### Logo

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/Hezakani.pshtiwany2 located by Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

## Counter-Terrorism Group

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.facebook.com/Hezakani.pshtiwany2 located by Esteban Rivera,, 14 April 2026

The Counter-Terrorism flag looks like it has a green border. I did a quick search and found one in the wind with only a white background and an indoor version of the same (but with the more common logo style). I drew the common white background flag; for the green border one, if it is certainly there, I'm not sure if it goes all around or just 3 edges.
Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026

### Logo

image by Daniel Rentería, 14 April 2026
Based on https://www.youtube.com/CTGKurdistan located by Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026

Esteban Rivera, 14 April 2026