VIDEO: Peshmerga fighting IS for two years without returning home ‘martyred’

“I will continue to defend Kurds and Kurdistan until the last drop of blood is left in my body.”

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Peshmerga soldier who volunteered to battle the Islamic State (IS) from different front lines was ‘martyred’ on Sunday in the southeast Mosul offensive, said a Peshmerga commander.

Previously, Kurdistan24 interviewed Karwan Rashid, a brave 22-year-old Peshmerga soldier, who was fighting IS on the Gwer front line, southwestern Erbil.

He had not returned home for two years despite the hour distance from his family.

On Sunday, Peshmerga forces launched an offensive against jihadists to liberate over 10 villages.

A Peshmerga commander, whose name was not mentioned, told Kurdistan24 that Karwan had been ‘martyred’ during the offensive.

“This is because of my strong Kurdish patriotism,” Karwan previously told Kurdistan24. “I inherited it from my father and family.”

Karwan mentioned that he wants to protect Kurds and Kurdistan from extremists and become a “martyr” defending the homeland.

“I will continue to defend Kurds and Kurdistan until the last drop of blood is left in my body,” he said.

Additionally, Karwan noted that he wanted to fight IS alone on the front line because he did not want Peshmerga to endure any more casualties.

“It was his childhood dream to be a Peshmerga soldier when he grew up,” Salih Rashid, Karwan’s father, said while showing his son’s photos.

Rashid pointed out that he was proud of Karwan for fighting among Peshmerga forces that ‘defend the honor and dignity of Kurdish people.’”

After Karwan’s death, Kurdistan24 reporters and cameramen filmed the moment when his colleague shoots an IS insurgent with a machine gun and tells Kurdistan24 that he “avenged Karwan’s blood.”

Moreover, Karwan’s mother Raziya Rashid previously told Kurdistan24 that she always thought about her son and often woke up at night crying while seeing Karwan in her dreams.

“My heart only rests when I talk to him on the phone,” she stated.

The Kurdistan Region shares over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of its border with IS in the north of Iraq.

Additionally, the Region is home to 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Peshmerga is one of the most efficient forces defeating the jihadists. They protect people regardless of their ethnic and religious background.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany