Iraq: Yazidis stand and fight; Baghdad worries
A Yazidi militia group has entered the fight against ISIS, clashing with militants near Sinjar. Khudida Kicho, a member of the Yazidi militia, said in a press conference in Erbil: "In the Kahbel area near Sinjar our fighters were able to attack IS militants and kill 24 of them. In the clashes three of our fighters were killed as well, but we will continue to fight terrorists until the end." (BasNews) Kurdish Peshmerga leaders meanwhile said their forces have seized full control of the Mosul Dam, in coordination with US air-strikes on ISIS positions in the area. (IraqiNews.com) But in Baghdad, the general command of Iraq's armed forces warned against foreign planes breaching the nation's airspace and arming "a certain Iraqi faction"—a clear reference to Western arming of the Peshmerga. "We welcome international support for Iraq in its war against terrorism," read the statement. "But Iraq's territorial sovereignty must be respected." (Rudaw, IraqiNews.com)
Salafis in Kurdistan condemn ISIS
A group of Salafis in Iraq's Kurdistan Region condemned ISIS, saying the group has "misunderstood Islam and confuses Muslims and infidels." It said in a statement that ISIS, known locally as Daiish, "are killing innocent Muslims in the name of Islam."
"What they [ISIS] are doing is not jihad," read the statement. "Their jihad is nothing but destruction and mass killing... We ask the Peshmerga to bravely guard our Muslim people and their land. Abdul Latif, a leading Salafi figures in Kurdistan, condemned ISIS attacks on Christian and Yazidi civilians. He called ISIS leader Abubakir al-Baghdadi "an extremist man who has no fear of God."
"The IS is the product of politicizing Islam," Abdul Latif told Rudaw.
He said that ISIS militants killed in battle are not considered martyrs and "in fact the Peshmerga who die defending the land, honor and dignity of the Kurdish people are the true martyrs." (Rudaw)