The Antichrist’s Men Fight Islamic State (Revelation 13:18)

The Antichrist’s Men

Armed Shi’ite volunteers from brigades loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr take their positions with their weapons on a vehicle during a patrol on the outskirts of Samarra August 2, 2014. Picture taken August 2, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)

The Syrian and Iraqi forces have mobilized its units to support the Kurdish forces fighting against the Islamic militants in Iraq after controlling another territory in the region.

The Iraqi government said it would deploy air support to the Kurdish forces called peshmerga who are fighting against the Islamic State in the vicinity of the Sinjar town, northwest of Iraq.

The counter-offensive came after the militants, tagged as terrorist by the government, overrun the Kurdish town for the past few days, driving out thousands of residents in the area. The town adds to the other territories now under the control of Islamic State, an Al Qaeda breakaway group.

Iraqi army spokesman Qassem Atta in Baghdad said Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has ordered the embattled country’s air forces to provide support to Kurdish units though it is unclear how the support would go, given that Iraqi army are in full offensive against the militants in other areas.

Moreover, militants affiliated with the Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) have also crossed the Iraq-Syrian border on Monday to support the Peshmerga forces, a Syrian Kurdish leader said.

The official, who was not named in the Anadolu report, said Peshmerga militants have been killed in some areas, prompting the PYD’s military wing Kurdish People’s Protection Units to mobilize in the Iraq and start its offensive.

However, no numbers of forces who joined the support group were given, but the Kurdish official said the Syrian Kurdish fighters are well-equipped as the ISIS.

The move is seen as a cooperation between the Kurdish and Iraqi government whose relations have been strained, with the Iraq accusing the Kurdish government of using the militant insurgency to control the oil-rich northern lands in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the insurgents have reportedly seized control of Iraq’s Mosul Dam this week, together with an oilfield and three more towns as the government fail to control the insurgency that killed almost 400 people.

The United Nations said the continuing violence has triggered a “humanitarian tragedy” in the region, with more than 200, 000 people displaced needing food and shelter.

UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) chief Nickolay Mladenov said the concerned parties should immediately resolve the violence to avoid further casualties on both sides.

“A humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sinjar,” he said in a statement.