Amid the United States’ Operation Epic Fury in Iran, thousands of Iraqi Kurds have reportedly launched a ground offensive in the Middle Eastern Country. A US official revealed the ground offensive to Fox News.
Aziz Ahmad, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, said that reports of a ground offensive are "patently false," adding that "Not a single Iraqi Kurd has crossed the border."
Kurdish officials told the Associated Press earlier in the day that dissident groups made up of the Iraqi ethnic group based in northern Iraq had been preparing for a potential operation. The US had reportedly requested that they support them.
Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, told the outlet that some of the group’s forces have moved to areas near the Iranian border and were on standby. He said that Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by officials in the US regarding a potential operation.
The Associated Press reported, "If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group."
When asked about reports that President Donald Trump had sought military assistance from Kurdish fighters, White House press secretary Karolien Leavitt said, "He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq."
