ERBIL — Kurdish leader and the president of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani issued a statement to remind the world that the Kurdish Peshmerga forces inflicted the first defeat on the Islamic State (IS).

Barzani’s statement came days after an Iranian news agency released a misleading short film on Tehran’s role in the fight against IS in Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

“Some media and political entities are recently talking about the IS war. There is a fact that cannot be overlooked: IS is a phenomenon which is the enemy of humanity, and fighting it is not easy as [the group] has a wide and multilateral front. One side cannot defeat IS independently,” the Kurdish leader said in his statement.

“Uprooting IS requires cooperation and joint effort by all and the international community.”

Barzani, who was the president of Kurdistan Region and the commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga forces during the war against IS, reminded that Kurdistan has commended the Global Coalition, the US, and other countries which helped the Peshmerga in the fight against IS.

“However, everyone should realize that it was the Peshmerga forces who protected Kurdistan from IS with their blood and sacrifices. No one can conceal the fact that the myth of IS was first broken by the brave men and women of Kurdistan,” Barzani added.