ANKARA - Peshmerges under the command of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani seized 61 tanks, 64 cannons, 55 armored vehicles and many ammunition and weapons formerly owned by Iraqi soldiers and took them to their own regions.
Sources said on Wednesday that KDP and PUK took the seized weapons and equipment to depots and forested areas in Dohuk, Zavita, Atrush, Spilik and As Suleymaniyah.
Below listed the weapons seized in Mosul and Kirkuk by IKDP which took 35 thousand weapons and PUK which took 4 thousand weapons from the United States during the military operation against Iraq:
KDP: 34 tanks, 21 armored vehicles, 14 armored personnel carriers, 37 cannons, 78 mortars, 27 multi-barrel rocket launchers, 84 antiaircraft, 254 rocket launchers, 3800 rifles, 288 land to air missiles, 1544 hand grenades, 400 thousand ammunition, 70 lorries, jeeps and other military vehicles, 2800 landmines and 4700 gas masks.
PUK: 21 tanks, 9 armored vehicles, 11 armored personnel carriers, 24 cannons, 60 mortars, 9 multi-barrel rocket launchers, 46 antiaircraft, 125 rocket launchers, 1100 rifles, many ammunition, 25 lorries, 5 jeeps, 4 pickup trucks, many landmines and generators.
The pershmerges who don't have any personnel who can drive tanks have started to train a group in Zavita to drive the tanks that they brought to their region with the help of surrendered Iraqi soldiers.
It is learned that a part of the mentioned weapons were distributed to peshmerges near Turkey's border while another part was sent to a camp of the terrorist organization PKK-KADEK opened in the mountainous area near Syria-Iraq border.
It is also stated that PUK was uneasy about the situation of KDP which collected more weapons than itself.
(BRC-AÖ) 23.04.2003