Isis extends deadly reach with suicide bombing in Kurdish capital
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-extends-its-deadly-reach-with-suicide-bombing-in-kurdish-capital
The failure of the Kurdish peshmerga to defend its positions in August when attacked by Isis had already created doubts among Kurds about the military effectiveness of their armed forces. Previously, the #peshmerga was regarded as determined and effective because of its record in fighting Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, but this time it fled without offering serious resistance. In doing so it abandoned the Kurdish #Yazidi minority to murder, rape and enslavement by Isis while the Christian community, one of the most ancient in the world, fled their homes and escaped to Erbil and elsewhere in the KRG.
Kurdish leaders say that their armed forces were outgunned by Isis, which had captured American-made armoured vehicles, artillery and tanks from the Iraqi Army. But interviews by The Independent with Yazidis and Christians, who saw Isis units enter their villages and towns, say that they were small in number and using soft-skinned civilian vehicles and not captured American Humvees. The KRG is demanding sophisticated heavy equipment from the US and other allies such as Apache helicopters, tanks and artillery before it stages a counter-offensive.