Facts you need to know about the Kurds during Operation Epic Fury
The Kurds are an ethnic group of 50-70 million people living mostly in Turkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria. They speak a language related to Farsi (Persian) and are mostly Sunni Muslims. International treaties in the 1920s divided Kurdish lands between newly-made countries, leaving the Kurds without a state of their own. Kurdish groups have fought for autonomy or independence in all 4 countries over the past century. Turkiye: Kurds make up about 20% of the population; a Kurdish armed group (PKK) has fought the state since 1984 in a conflict killing over 40,000 people. Iraq: Kurds in the north run a semi-autonomous region with their own government but are in tensions with the government of Iraq, especially over oil profits. Syria: during the civil war, Kurdish fighters partnered with the US against the Islamic State from 2014, controlling much of the northeast until 2026. Iran: Kurds make up about 10% of the population and face repression; Kurdish areas were a focal point of mass unrest...