Kurds

Peace in the Middle East? Kurdish PKK leader discusses regional ‘third world war’

Kamal Chomani, with The Amargi news outlet, spent ten days in caves waiting to interview the PKK chief in an exclusive interview about the region, Kurds, Turkey, and the world today.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Murat Karayilan co-leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederalism Council (KKK) poses during an interview with AFP in a camp near Arbil in the Sinena mountains, northern Iraq, 11 August 2005.
Israelis from Kurdish origin take part in a rally in support of the Kurdish referendum outside the American consulate in Jerusalem September 24, 2017

Israel, Kurdistan, and the hopes for a strong political alliance - opinion

In a twisted way, the closer Kurds and Jews get, and the more visible that becomes, the more people start seeing Kurds as another kind of Jew: in how they frame the Kurdish political struggle.

|ByMEM HUSEDIN
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the Qarachogh Mountain in the Makhmur district, about 60 kilometres south of Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region, on September 30, 2026.

Iran launches drone strikes on Iranian Kurdish opposition camp in northern Iraq

Iran has carried out more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region. Many of them targeted Kurdish opposition groups.

|ByREUTERS
Shi'ite fighters launch a rocket during clashes with Islamic State militants on the outskirts of al-Alam, Iraq.

Iraq targets lingering ISIS pockets with airstrikes, operations in security vacuum after US pullout

"F-16 aircraft carried out two airstrikes targeting a hideout belonging to remnants of Daesh elements in the Nareen area, resulting in its complete destruction."

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

The end of the SDF: What the dissolution means for the Kurds and Sharaa's state - opinion

Following an agreement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the SDF's mission ended and was being dissolved "as an independent military force" and being integrated into the Syrian army.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2026ByNEVILLE TELLER
Soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces stand in front of the detainees before the first exchange operation between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government in Aleppo, Syria, April 3, 2025.

Prisoners protest in Syria's Kobani after Kurdish soldier's murder test al-Sharaa's - analysis

This is the latest in Syria's tensions, while it also reveals the concerns many Kurds have about how the new government resolves crises.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listens to French President during a joint press conference after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025.

Kurdish expert: Israel knows how to recognize a nation. It should recognize ours - opinion

Kurds are the largest unrecognized nation on earth. Not unrepresented, which is a lesser condition. There is no seat, no flag at Turtle Bay, no ministry anywhere that receives our envoys as envoys.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026ByMEM HUSEDIN
Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, delivers a speech after casting his ballot in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on November 11, 2025.

Kurdish group kills Sunni ‘traitor’ working with IRGC, source tells ‘Post’

The alleged IRGC collaborator, Mala Mohammadi Mala Qaderi, was killed by two motorcyclists after they attacked the entrance to Qaderi’s home.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
IRGC forces open fire on Iranian protestors.

Seven years after being displaced, Kurdish families return to Serekaniye - analysis

In 2019, the US briefly considered leaving Syria. It evacuated some posts in the area, not wanting to be in the middle of fighting. It took time for the area to stabilize.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of the all women Martyr Ayaz Çiya battalion staff checkpoints and stop vehicles in the Halko neighbourhood on February 8, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

International Jewish-Kurdish conference kicks off in London

Jewish and Kurdish leaders gathered in London for a two day conference aimed at turning 2,700 years of shared history into stronger political, cultural, academic, and diaspora cooperation.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026ByALEX CARSON
Jewish–Kurdish Relations in a Changing Middle East: History, Identity and Future Cooperation, London, UK

A new generation has risen, one that ‘does not know Joseph’ - opinion

Twenty-five years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Western youngsters, ignorant of the jihadist assault, have forgotten how dangerous Islamic extremism can be

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026ByCHARLES JACOBS, WALID PHARES
Demonstrators wave Palestinian flags and chant against Israel’s and America’s war with Iran in front of the Israeli embassy in Portugal in May.

Iran attacks Kurdish Iranian opposition group in Iraq - analysis

The attack comes amid numerous reports in Kurdish media that the US is withdrawing from Iraq, including forces in the Kurdistan Region. This includes reports of air defenses being withdrawn.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Damaged buildings after, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026.

PKK warns disarmament process at risk unless Turkey links surrender to political reforms

Bayik said the National Solidarity and Social Integration Law does not clearly connect the surrender of weapons with a transition to democratic politics.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

US withdrawal from Iraq will be watched closely by Iran-backed militias, Kurds - analysis

Iranian-backed militias and Iran have already targeted the Kurdistan region with more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks since February 2026, and it will be vulnerable if the US withdraws.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Damaged buildings after, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026.