Pesh Merga: Those Who Face Death

01/11/03, Shinerwe Mountain, Iraq-Pesh Merga, meaning 'Those who face death' in Kurdish, has been fighting against several enemies; Ansar al-Islam (meaning supporters of Islam), Komala, and Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Regime. With American help, they conquered Ansal al-Islam and liberated from Iraqi Regime. A PUK, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, pesh merga Azad Abuzaid, 23, carrying two RPG rounds on his back, sat still for hours under the stars and moonlight to keep his eyes on the Ansar al Islam, or supporters of Islam, from a frontline bunker on Shinerwe Mountain. Pesh Merga means 'Those who face death,' in Kurdish.

Pesh Merga, Those Who Face Death-Inside the Bunker: 01/11/03, Shinerwe Mountain, Iraq-Halat Karim Agha, left, 32, PUK commander of the frontline unit, and other pesh merga inside a sleeping bunker at the frontline on Shinerwe mountain.

01/12/02, Gilda Drozna, Iraq-A PUK pesh merga unbuckled his catridge belt for Kalashnikov magazines belt to rest in the room after his duty at a sleeping bunker on the top of Gilda Drozna hill, one of the frontline against Ansar al Islam militants. The small holes on the left wall is maks of a grenade that killed several pesh merga during the ambush by Ansar militants on early December, 2002 which killed scores of pesh merga. An RPG round stands outside the window and a machine gun with its rounds rests against the wall. (Cr:Chang W. Lee/The New York Times) Sack#200300174

Pesh Merga, Those Who Face Death-Never Forgotten: 01/07/03, Shinerwe Mountain, Iraq-A pesh merga kept a picture of his former commander, who was killed during a gun fight against Ansar al Islam, on his magazine holder.

01/07/02, Shinerwe Mountain, Iraq-Qasim Ali, a PUK pesh merga kept his eye on Ansar Islam soldiers whose bunker is only about 1.2 km (within the distance of machine gun fire) away from them. On the right in the back is another PUK bunker on the top of mountain. Ansar Islam soldiers occationally fired machine guns while I was there. This bunker is the closest one from each other. Ansar Islam is based in near by villages including Beyara near Iranian border. (Cr:Chang W. Lee/The New York Times) Sack#200300169

03/30/03, Gulup, Iraq-Iraqi Kurdish pesh merga of PUK, unloading from the truck after they came back from the fighting in the mountain against remaining Ansar al-Islam militants. (Cr:Chang W. Lee/The New York Times) Sack#2003018??

Pesh Merga, Those Who Face Death-A Katusha: 04/10/03, Chiman, Kirkuk Province, Iraq-PUK pesh merga launched Katusha, mobile rocket launcher, toward Iraqi soldiers' positions in Kirkuk, at Muthanna former Iraqi military headquarter which they captured. Chiman is less than 7 KM (4.5 miles) away from Kirkuk.

03/22/03, Grda-Go, Iraq-A car bomb by an Islamic militant, loaded with 200 lbs of TNT, killed at least five pesh merga and a foreign journalist at Grda-Go, a frontline check point that PUK pesh merga captured from Komala Islami Kurdistan, a Kurdish Islamic group in northern Iraq, today after American bombing early in the morning. Photographer and other journalists were at the check point a few seconds before and narrowly escaped the disaster.

04/10/03, Kirkuk, Iraq-Iraqi Kurdish Kirkukee, Kirkuk people, welcomed the arrival of PUK pesh merga as Kirkuk was being liberated.

04/11/03, Kirkuk, Iraq-A PUK pesh merga rested outside the Governorate building on a luxury chair that he brought out from the former Iraqi Kirkuk Governor's office, the day after they captured Kirkuk.

03/28/03, Tapa Kura, Iraq-A PUK pesh merga prayed in Tapa Kura, where it had been frontline for last several months, after PUK pesh merga took over the villages of Ansar al-Islam, behind on the bottom of mountain this morning including Sarget, middle. (Cr:Chang W. Lee/The New York Times) Sack#200301830