Frag Out! Magazine

compounds. At the front line, there are all kinds of different uniforms and camo pattern present, mostly made in China and bought through local "tactical shops". The hierarchy seems strong, while discipline is of much lesser importance; the Kurds are hardened fighters. On our way back through the villages, we see another type of Kurdish fighters: members of the PKK have an eye on us. They are in uniform, clean combat fatigues and also have young women among them. Everyone we talk to has the highest respect for those warriors. But people also say, that the courageous battles has cost the PKK dearly, that they bled a lot and are weakened as a result. It is a fight that was forced on the Kurdish people. "You know, our men are here to defend their homes," General Aras explains to us. "They have families, that they want to see from time to time, and that they want to go back to when they do not have to fight anymore, so when the war is over." The ISIS terrorists are completely different; they want to fight, kill and are indifferent if they die. "They just don't care." On our way back to Erbil, our armored SUVs stop at the side of the road. "Here they have the best and freshest fruits, I want to buy some," the team leader tells us. We hang out at a small booth; all our companions have their weapons slung around their neck. Fist sized radish, a healthy temptation. But Erbil is also not spared by the ongoing conflict. Close to the city limits are large, well run refugee camps for those people, who fled from Mosul or other parts of the territory now controlled by IS. In the center of Erbil, one can take pretty tourist style pictures. As a free giveaway, the information that a couple of hundred yards away, close to a government building, a car bomb went off not too long ago. Or one relaxed at a BBQ – 250 yards from the US consulate – where another bomb recently e x p l o d e d . "The coffee shop across the street, which we frequented regularly,

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