Jihadis from Syria blamed for multiple attacks on Iraqi Kurds

An onslaught of attacks on Kurdish peshmerga forces and villages in northern Iraq has sparked concerns over the presence of Islamic State cells and whether they have been bulked up by jihadis arriving from Syria.
Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters pose for a photo next to a military vehicle bearing the Kurdish flag after they reportedly captured several villages from the Islamic State in the district of Daquq on Sept. 11, 2015.
Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters pose for a photo next to a military vehicle bearing the Kurdish flag after they reportedly captured several villages from the Islamic State in the district of Daquq, south of the northern city of Kirkuk, on Sept. 11, 2015. - MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP via Getty Images
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Shelly Kittleson
@shellykittleson

BAGHDAD — A recent string of attacks targeting Kurdish forces in northern Iraq in areas disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has raised questions about where the attackers came from and how long they have been in the area.

Local sources have claimed to Al-Monitor that Islamic State (IS) forces operating there now include foreign nationals.

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