The Kurdish peshmerga forces have made incremental progress in warfighting functions and have taken significant steps toward reform goals, including achieving two fully operationally KSF divisions under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (MoPA), the Pentagon’s quarterly inspector general report to the U.S. Congress said on May 2.

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Peshmerga troops are split between political factions, with 70 units under the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and 80 units under the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The goal of the peshmerga reform project is to unite these units as Regional Guard Brigades under the MoPA.

The Netherlands, the United States, UK, and Germany are supporting the peshmerga reform program with advisors in the Kurdistan Region, also named the Multinational Advisory Group.

A renewed non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the U.S. Department of Defense and the MoPA in 2022 committed to providing support to the peshmerga, but only if key reforms continue. 

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 The MoU will remain in effect until the end of September 2026, subject to the availability of funds, the Pentagon report said.

The Pentagon report also underlined that the KSF’s 1st and 2nd Divisions achieved fully operational capability in March, which the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition – also known as the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) – described as an “important milestone” in the campaign plan as well as the MoU and related terms of reference.

Moreover, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency reported that both divisions had completed a command post exercise in February that signaled that they had achieved full operating capability.

“CJTF-OIR reported that the 2nd Division Headquarters was manned at 70% as of the end of the quarter, and the MoPA had biometrically enrolled 100% of its personnel into an electronic funds transfer system to pay salaries, a key financial reform,” the report added.

Moreover, CJTF-OIR advisors continued weekly engagements with key peshmerga leaders in support of the partner force development plan, which is partly based on the MoU and related terms of reference, CJTF-OIR said.

Nevertheless, CJTF-OIR reported that despite the progress made on reform efforts, political challenges remained, including what CJTF-OIR described as “perceptions of inequality” between forces previously attached to the KDP or PUK.

Coalition military advisers met routinely with peshmerga leadership to encourage continued dialogue and compromise to reduce these perceptions and build trust.

CJTF-OIR had previously reported that efforts at MoPA reform were “slowed” by an ongoing political divide between the KDP and the PUK.

The report also said the Minister of Peshmerga Affairs Shoresh Ismail returned to his post in November last year after more than a year out of office due to a dispute with PUK leaders.

“CJTF-OIR said that this quarter, while party politics continued to hamper reform, the minister’s reinstatement was having ‘a significant impact’ on reform progress,” the report added.

Minister Ismail reportedly said that the partisan 70s and 80s units will be united under MoPA control by September 2026.