The Kurds, Islamic State and the New Iraq War

Oct 16, 2014 | Reese Erlich, Austalia Broadcasting Corporation
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Fauzi Ali fights back tears as she explained how she and her extended Yazidi family fled over dangerous mountain terrain and into the Kurdish region of Iraq.

‘The Islamic State attacked our village and killed people, even children,’ she says. ‘They took some of the women with them. We were afraid for our lives and left.’

Ali was among the tens of thousands of Iraqis who left their homes in the face of an Islamic State onslaught in August. 

The US, backed by Australia, began air attacks against IS in September. The US dropped bombs on insurgent targets in Syria as well. Both governments say they seek to fight terrorism by stopping Islamic State militants. Kurdistan has an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil reserves. Some analysts say that western intervention is motivated by interest in that oil. Meanwhile, the Kurds may insist on independence from Iraq before the war ends.