Kurds Launch New Offensive Against ISIS

Kurdish Peshmerga security forces stand guard on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, Iraq on June 14, 2014. (AP)

Kurdish Peshmerga forces are attacking ISIS in the oil-rich Iraqi province of Kirkuk. The offensive started yesterday and comes as Iraqi forces and Shiite militias try to retake Tikrit from the militants.

The two assaults are taking places as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gets ready to consider President Obama’s request for authorization to use military force against ISIS for three more years.

U.S. fighter jets have been conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets for several months.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Sebastian Usher, the BBC’s Arab affairs editor, about the the Peshmerga’s strategy and the situation in Tikrit.

Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

Guest

  • Sebastian Usher, Arab affairs editor for the BBC in London. he tweets @sebusher.
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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