Rudaw screens Glory, a documentary about the Peshmerga
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rudaw on Tuesday screened Glory, a new documentary highlighting the legacy of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces, from their early uprisings against successive Iraqi regimes to their defining role in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS).
The film traces the evolution of the Peshmerga, whose name translates to “those who face death,” as both a national symbol of resilience and the Kurdistan Region’s official defense force recognized under the Iraqi constitution.
“In my family, my brothers, uncle, father, and grandfather were all Peshmerga. Two of my uncles are martyrs,” Rebin Rojbayani, an officer at the Peshmerga Ministry, says in the documentary. “Since childhood, I have heard their stories, and I grew up with those memories. That inspiration developed within me.”
Rojbayani, born in 1987 in Erbil, said his grandfather, Younis Sorkhan, fought in the September Revolution - the 1961 uprising led by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) founder Mullah Mustafa Barzani against then-Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qassim. The movement, known locally as the Aylul Revolution, sought autonomy for Kurds and lasted until 1975, when the Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran dealt a major setback to Kurdish aspirations.
Following the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime, the Peshmerga institutionalized their forces. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) established the first military academy in Qalachwalan, Sulaimani province, followed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Zakho Military Academy in Duhok in 1996.
The Peshmerga gained global recognition in 2014 for their frontline role against ISIS, particularly after the Iraqi army’s collapse during the group’s rapid territorial expansion. With support from the US-led international coalition, the Peshmerga halted ISIS’s advance toward Erbil and spearheaded operations to liberate vast territories - reclaiming more than 50,000 square kilometers and freeing millions of Iraqis from ISIS control.
Coalition support through airstrikes, training, and equipment has since strengthened the Peshmerga’s capacity. The forces remain central to maintaining stability in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, continuing counter-ISIS operations in disputed territories where the group still operates in small cells.
For years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been working to unify its various Peshmerga units into a single, professional, and depoliticized national force under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. This reform, backed by the United States and other coalition partners, is in its final stages and aims to merge all forces by September 2026.
At the heart of this effort is the integration of Unit 70 and Unit 80 - affiliated with the PUK and KDP, respectively - into a unified command structure. Together, these two units make up the core of the Peshmerga, numbering over 100,000 troops.
Lieutenant Colonel Bakhtiar Mohammed, secretary-general of the Peshmerga Ministry, told Rudaw in mid-September that progress, though slow, continues. “I can say that within the coming two months, some meetings will be held and there will be an understanding that will be materialized, leading to better management of the reform process,” he said.
Between 2010 and 2013, around 42,000 fighters from both units were merged to form 14 joint brigades, but political disputes and the 2014 ISIS war halted progress. The unification plan was revived in 2018 under a 35-point reform roadmap developed with coalition partners.
The film traces the evolution of the Peshmerga, whose name translates to “those who face death,” as both a national symbol of resilience and the Kurdistan Region’s official defense force recognized under the Iraqi constitution.
“In my family, my brothers, uncle, father, and grandfather were all Peshmerga. Two of my uncles are martyrs,” Rebin Rojbayani, an officer at the Peshmerga Ministry, says in the documentary. “Since childhood, I have heard their stories, and I grew up with those memories. That inspiration developed within me.”
Rojbayani, born in 1987 in Erbil, said his grandfather, Younis Sorkhan, fought in the September Revolution - the 1961 uprising led by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) founder Mullah Mustafa Barzani against then-Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qassim. The movement, known locally as the Aylul Revolution, sought autonomy for Kurds and lasted until 1975, when the Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran dealt a major setback to Kurdish aspirations.
Following the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime, the Peshmerga institutionalized their forces. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) established the first military academy in Qalachwalan, Sulaimani province, followed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Zakho Military Academy in Duhok in 1996.
The Peshmerga gained global recognition in 2014 for their frontline role against ISIS, particularly after the Iraqi army’s collapse during the group’s rapid territorial expansion. With support from the US-led international coalition, the Peshmerga halted ISIS’s advance toward Erbil and spearheaded operations to liberate vast territories - reclaiming more than 50,000 square kilometers and freeing millions of Iraqis from ISIS control.
Coalition support through airstrikes, training, and equipment has since strengthened the Peshmerga’s capacity. The forces remain central to maintaining stability in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, continuing counter-ISIS operations in disputed territories where the group still operates in small cells.
For years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been working to unify its various Peshmerga units into a single, professional, and depoliticized national force under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. This reform, backed by the United States and other coalition partners, is in its final stages and aims to merge all forces by September 2026.
At the heart of this effort is the integration of Unit 70 and Unit 80 - affiliated with the PUK and KDP, respectively - into a unified command structure. Together, these two units make up the core of the Peshmerga, numbering over 100,000 troops.
Lieutenant Colonel Bakhtiar Mohammed, secretary-general of the Peshmerga Ministry, told Rudaw in mid-September that progress, though slow, continues. “I can say that within the coming two months, some meetings will be held and there will be an understanding that will be materialized, leading to better management of the reform process,” he said.
Between 2010 and 2013, around 42,000 fighters from both units were merged to form 14 joint brigades, but political disputes and the 2014 ISIS war halted progress. The unification plan was revived in 2018 under a 35-point reform roadmap developed with coalition partners.