US citizen among those arrested at Sulaimani’s Lalezar Hotel

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An American man accused of illegally providing military training was among more than 150 people detained during the violent arrest of Lahur Talabany in Sulaimani last month, a security force spokesperson said on Friday.

“An American citizen named Brian Wilson was arrested on the night of the Lalezar incident on 22-08-2025,” said Colonel Salam Abdulkhaliq, spokesperson for the Asayish (internal security forces). “This person trained illegal forces without his country's knowledge.”

According to Abdulkhaliq, Wilson confessed to “independently” helping create Lahur Talabany’s Dupishk (Scorpion) force.

On August 22, security forces surrounded Lalezar Hotel to arrest Lahur Talabany, the leader of the opposition party People’s Front (Baray Gal). Talabany and his brothers Polad and Aso Sheikh Jangi were detained along with more than 150 supporters after nearly four hours of heavy gunfire.

Talabany, also known as Lahur Sheikh Jangi, is facing charges of criminal conspiracy.

Both his party and his family have accused the leadership of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the ruling party in Sulaimani, of abusing the courts and security forces.