Kurdistan
Today, Erbil Governor Omid Khoshnaw told a news conference that the security committee of Erbil has decided to close the places that sell weapons.
He said that the security forces, police, Zeravani and Peshmerga were assigned to form a joint force to set up checkpoints to collected unlicensed weapons and will start today.
He added that all receptions in Erbil and security checkpoints have been required to investigate those who carry illegal weapons and seize their weapons.
After a number of homicides in Erbil and the Kurdistan region, the prime minister of the Kurdistan region directed the interior ministry to close all gun stores and places that sell weapon. The Erbil governorate started to seize all unlicensed weapons in the governorates top prevent further homicides.
A source with the Sulaimani Security Directorate told Kurdsat News that they have worked continuously to eliminate illegal weapons.
He said that the security directorate is committed to the decisions of the presidency of the Kurdistan Regional Government to eliminate this phenomenon, and have intensified their efforts to seize illegal weapons.
After a dramatic increase of crimes in the Kurdistan region, today the prime minister of the Kurdistan region said that he has directed related ministries and agencies to seize unlicensed weapons and shut down gun stores.
According to Small Arms Survey on total number of civilian-owned weapons in a country conducted in 2017, ranks Iraq 29 globally, however the number is much higher with unofficial figures claiming that every house hold in the Kurdistan region owns a gun.
Saleem Ankabi, a member Iraqi council of representatives with the Fatah alliance, said the name of the prime ministerial candidate would be announced soon.
According to the MP, there is no option besides forming a government in the service of the people, and the next prime minister should be endorsed by the majority and courageous in making decisions.
After Sadrists withdrew from the Parliament, their seats were distributed over candidates that got fewer votes than winners in the 2021 general parliamentary election. Many parties with only a few seats now have doubled or tripled their seats.
The Coordination Framework comprises many parties, including the Fatah Alliance and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Framework now commands the majority in the Parliament and is expected to form the next government soon.
Hadi al-Amiri is the leader of Badr Organization, who secured only 17 seats of 329 in the 2021 Iraqi general election, a significant drop from the 48 seats in 2018.
The Director of the World Health Organization in Iraq visited Sulaimani and met with the Director of Health of Sulaimani, the Governor of Sulaimani, the Kurdistan region deputy minister of health and the director of water resources of Sulaimani, discussed the causes, treatments and measures to prevent cholera.
Ahmad Ziurti and Wael Hatahit, head of the Emergency Team in Iraq and representative of the World Health Organization, expressed their support for the efforts of Sulaimani health to control the cholera epidemic. "You are the best," representatives of WHO told the Sulaimani health directory officials.
In a press conference, the Sulaimani governor said that the number of cholera cases is decreasing and the epidemic is under control and citizens should continue to take precautions to prevent it from resurfacing in the coming months.
The meeting was attended by the Peshmerga Minister, the head of the Kurdistan region Parastin and Zanyari-Zanyari agency, and a number of senior military and security commanders.
President Bafel Jalal Talabani thanked the American and international coalition forces for their assistance to the Kurdistan region in the fight against ISIS terrorists and for their support to the Peshmerga forces in terms of training, arming and improving military capabilities.
Talabani explained that the efforts to unite and reform the Peshmerga Ministry is praiseworthy and grateful and said that any plan to unite the Peshmerga forces are welcome, but the step should take into account the regional circumstances and today's reality, every step taken must be in the service of protecting the security of the region.
In the meeting, Kurdistan region president Nechirvan Barzani expressed the Kurdistan Region's gratitude to the United States and its allies for the support and assistance they are providing to the Peshmerga during the fight against ISIS, and their help in the reform process in the Ministry of Peshmerga and reunification of the Peshmerga forces.
For his part, General Brennan reiterated that the United States will continue to support and assist the Peshmerga to be brought together under the umbrella of the Ministry of Peshmerga and a single command and become a professional national force, strong and capable of fulfilling its mission.
The latest developments in the fight against terrorism, the need for cooperation between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army and the continued support of the international coalition for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were also discussed at the meeting.
On Tuesday, June 28, at 08:15 local time, an armed student broke into Erbil's Salahaddin University college of law dean's office, shooting the dean dead and injuring a security guard, he later broke into the house of an engineering professor and killed him, a statement issued by Salahaddin University explained.
A video published by KurdSat English shows the lecturer being shot point-blank after the lecturer tries to run and the student with a pistol corners him.
The student had a transfer issue two years ago that ultimately led to the homicide. Today, the same student raided the office of Professor Dr. Kawan Ismail, Dean of the College of Law and the house of Prof. Idris Hama Khan, a lecturer in the College of Engineering. As a result, he killed both of them and wounded a security guard at the law college, a statement from Salahaddin University explained.
According to the murderer's brother, a while ago, his brother had an issue with Dris's wife, Dr. Nishtiman, who filed a complaint against the killer, and it led to his expulsion from the Koya University, the killer was eager to study and demanded to be transferred to Salahaddin University.
"He tried for three years to no avail, and the problem severely damaged my brother's mental health," the killer's brother added.
"The prime minister and all security agencies are investigating this tragic incident to bring the perpetrators to justice," Salahaddin University said.
The incident brought a united reaction from the people of the Kurdistan region, condemning such an act and demanding swift justice. Many people on social media asked for the return of execution.
In a statement, Dana Gas said that the missile attacks on the field caused no casualties. However, "after the June 22 incident, two more missiles landed on Friday and Saturday in the Kormor field in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
Production at the Kormor field continues normally, and security in the field is tightened, only work on the Kormor KM250 expansion project has been temporarily suspended, Dana Gas said in a statement.
"The Kurdistan Regional Government has taken all measures to increase security measures in Kormor, including bringing more troops to protect the fields and facilities," the company said.
The Kormor gas field was hit by a missile on November 22, followed by two more missiles on Friday and Saturday.
After the incident, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, along with the acting ministers of Peshmerga and Natural Resources and other security officials, visited the Kormori gas field on June 15 and met with officials of Dana Gas Company.
Qubad Talabani assured them that they would work to protect the workers' lives in the field, and would talk with relevant Iraqi authorities to prevent such attacks in the future.
Khor Mor natural gas field is located in Sulaimani in the Kurdistan region. UAE Dana Gas company operates in the field. An estimated 5.7 trillion cubic meters is in the Kurdistan region, with most of it in the Khor Mor gas field. Khor Mor holds over 80 per cent of the Kurdistan region's natural gas reserves.
According to a statement issued by the Sulaimani Court, the court's president discussed the issue in a meeting with the Sulaimani Arrest and Transportation Police Department, emphasizing that a special place should be allocated for the purpose as soon as possible.
The Sulaimani Court of Appeal will be the first court in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to implement this system.
The remote system will provide more peace of mind for the accused and criminals and also greater convenience for the police, and it reduces the cost of transporting the criminals from prison to the courts.
The field is also a substantial source of revenue for the Kurdistan regional government to pay its employees, which are close to 1.2 million in a region of 6.5 million people. The KRG's budget share from Baghdad has been withheld or sent from time to time since 2014, making the field more critical to the region's finance.
The 800-dinar petrol is key to the region's stability, as petrol prices have increased two-fold since 2020. When in early June petrol prices increased. People accuse energy retailers of rocket and feather pricing, with many taking to the streets and unprecedented long queues of taxis and buses waiting to refill their tanks.
UAE energy firm Dana Gas runs the field and is located within the borders of the Kurdistan region, which is far from the chaos and insecurity that haunts the rest of Iraq, which makes the recent attacks suspicious as terrorists have never got their hands on assets and people within the Kurdistan region.
Although in just 4 days, multiple rockets were fired at the gas field. The assault follows the Iraqi supreme court's ruling to strip the Kurdistan region from Kormor.
On June 26, the Peshmerga forces stopped the Iraqi army from taking over the field. Later the Deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan region, accompanied by the senior military commanders, visited the Kormor and assured them of the region's insistence on keeping the field safe.
After the Iraqi supreme court's ruling to take over the Kurdish field, Iraqi executive agencies wanted to carry out the decision, a politically motivated decision. Yet, the region would not easily give up as the gas field is key to the region's stability, finance and a key card in Erbil talks with Baghdad.
Last Wednesday, for the first time Kurdistan region's Kormor gas field, which produces close to half of the region's gas production, was targeted with Katyusha rockets. It was followed by another attack on Friday that caused chaos within the field.
The attack comes amid tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad regarding controlling energy fields in Kirkuk. The attacked field, Kormor, produces almost half of the energy of the Kurdistan region, and the region depends on it financially as Baghdad has cut the region's budget share since 2014.
A recent decision by the Iraqi supreme court requires the KRG to hand over its oil sector to Baghdad, and the Iraqi oil ministry has expressed its willingness to carry out the decision.
Two border couriers from Ravansar and Saqqez cities in Kurdistan province were injured by Iranian security forces while working as couriers in the border of Nawsood and Bana cities, Hangaw Human Rights Organization reported.
According to a report by the organization, some people in East Kurdistan who go to the borders to work as couriers are attacked by the border guard every day. They climb high and steep mountains to put food on the table of their families as Iranian riyals is devalued due to the US-led sanctions on Iran.
Border couriers move goods across the Iran-Kurdistan region border over the dangerously high mountains. They are usually shot by Iranian border guards.
According to a statement issued by Dana Gas, there were no casualties in yesterday's missile attack on the Kormor field in Kirkuk, and production continues normally. Only two employees were slightly injured, later treated, and have returned to work.
The statement added that security forces had launched an intensive investigation into the attack, and additional security measures had been taken.
The attack comes amid tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad regarding controlling energy fields in Kirkuk. The attacked field, Kormor, produces almost half of the energy of the Kurdistan region, and the region depends on it financially as Baghdad has cut the region's budget share since 2014.
A recent decision by the Iraqi supreme court requires the KRG to hand over its oil sector to Baghdad, and the Iraqi oil ministry has expressed its willingness to carry out the decision.
Sabah Hawrami, Director General of Sulaimani Health Directory, said that 482 cases of diarrhea and vomiting have been admitted to hospitals in the past 24 hours, and they were discharged after treatment.
The Kurdistan region has recorded a large number of cases with symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. Over 5,800 cases with vomiting and diarrhea were recorded in Sulaimani and Halabja hospitals. On June 19, two inmates from Sulaimani adult corrections facility died due to cholera, a source within the prison told KurdSat News.
Sadiq Mohammed, the mayor of Qadir Karam district in Kikruk, told Kurdsat News that an explosion was heard in the village of Kormor near Dana Gas headquarters, at 04:45 pm local time. The local authorities are investigating the incident, the explosion was mortar shells fire at the energy company.
Dana Gas is a energy company that owns large reserves of natural gas in the Kurdistan region. It operates in the Kormor gas field that constitutes almost half of the region's gas production.
"A Turkish military base in Amedi’s Bamarne village was hit by mortar shells, and the base shelled the area that the rockets originated from,” KurdSat News correspondent reported. No causalities are known so far, the correspondent added.
Since early June, the base has been targeted three times, and the Turkish military outpost has been there for the last 25 years. Turkey maintains over 50 military bases and outposts on the Turkish-Kurdistan region border to prevent PKK crossing into Turkey.
Yesterday, June 20, another 16-year-old Yazidi girl named Rusita Haji Pacho, was rescued from the hands of ISIS terrorists in Syria, Hussein Qaidi, head of Yazidi rescue office, told Kurdsat News.
He noted that 3,553 Yazidis have been rescued from the hands of terrorists in Sinjar, while the fate of 2,718 people is still unknown.
Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2018, the search for abducted Yazidi women is continuous.