Man dies as Iraqi forces raid Kurdish peshmerga post
Saturday, 27 September, 2008 , 12:02
BAQUBA, Iraq, Sept 27, 2008 (AFP) — A member of the Kurdish peshmerga died when Iraqi police on Saturday raided a peshmerga security post in the troubled town of Jalawla, Salah Koikha, spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a leading Kurdish political party, told AFP. An Iraqi security official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the incident, saying the troops targeted a cell of the peshmerga secret service known as Asayish.
Tension is high between Iraqi forces and peshmerga, who moved into the region after they were invited to help a drive against Al-Qaeda insurgents in the unruly Diyala province, of which Jalawla is a Kurdish enclave.
Peshmerga are former Kurdish guerrillas who fought against the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein and led a campaign for autonomy for the Iraqi Kurdish minority in northern parts of the country.
