Babekir Zêbarî

Commander in Chief Babakir Zebari

Babekir Bedirxan Shewkat Zêbarî  ( Kurdish بابەکر زێباری Babekir Zêbarî ; Arabic بابا كر بدرخان شوكت زيباري) Is an Iraqi - Kurdish general in the new Iraqi army . Since 2007 he has been the commander in chief of the Iraqi army.

Career

Babakir began his military career in the Iraqi army in 1970 after graduating from the Rustamiyah Military Academy in Baghdad . In the military academy he learned how to use air defense artillery. He was quickly promoted to Commander in Chief Iraqi Air Defense and deployed near the border with Jordan (Israeli-Iraqi conflict). From 1971 to 1973 General Babakir was one of the leading commanders in chief of the Iraqi army and was entrusted with military technical positions in Baghdad, Taji and Habiniyah.

The new Arab-Socialist Ba'ath Party led by Saddam Hussein pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Iraqi Kurds. Since Babakir was of Kurdish origin, he left the army in 1973 because of this government policy and joined the Kurdish resistance under the leadership of Molla Mustafa Barzani . Since 1973 General Babakir fought with the Kurdish Peshmerga together in Galala (Dohuk) against the Iraqi army. Babakir was promoted to deputy commander of the Kurdish Air Defense Battalion. Since 1975 he was assigned as the highest-ranking commander of the Kurdish air defense brigade in Amediye .

After the Treaty of Algiers and the defeat of the Kurds, Babakir and his family sought refuge in the Iranian Kurdish areas. In 1979, Babakir returned to Iraq and rejoined the Kurdish rebels. He was appointed commander in chief of the Kurdish army and a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (DPK). In 1989, Babakir became a member of the Central Committee of the DPK. Between 1980 and 1991, Babakir was in the Shaikhan and Akrê region as Commander in Chief of the Air Defense in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region . In 1991 General Babakir was the commander in chief of all Kurdish forces in the Dohuk and Mosul region and took part in the uprising against the government after the second Gulf War. During the Iraq War in 2003, General Babakir played an important role in supporting coalition forces in the region. In 2003, Babakir became the commanding general and chief of staff of the Iraqi army. General Babakir is fluent in Kurdish , Arabic and Persian .

Military training

Babakir's general military training and experience includes air defense , aerial combat , hand-to-hand combat, defensive combat, underground combat, and special operations.

Order and distinction

• Barzani Award (the highest Kurdish award)
• Legion of Merit (United States)

Web links

• Top Iraqi General Visits Fort Riley, Sees Transition Team Training (English)
• Head of Iraqi army: US troops will be able to withdraw by 2008 (English)
• Army surgeon: US knew Mosul attack suicide (English)