President Talabani's PUK lost 30 or 40 Pesh'merga to an Ansar al Islam (Ansar al Sunnah precursor, more or less) in 2001 or 2002, quite a few of them beheaded. Also during that period there was a nearly successful attempt on Barham Salih's life in which his personal secretary/relative, and several body guards were killed.
Following the attack on the Pesh'merga there was quite a bit of talk among the Kurdish expatriate community about an offer made by Barzani to load up the lads and come on down to assist the PUK in wiping out Ansar al Islam. If memory serves, the PUK had been conducting some form of demobilization then, and didn't have as many Pesh under arms as they might have liked.
I was involved in some work around Halabja from the late-1990's through the beginning of the current conflict, and met with the Mayor and several doctors from the area a number of times during those years. Everyone wanted the Ansar al Islam knuckleheads eliminated. When I visited Halabja in 2004 and 2005 I was struck by how far behind the rest of Kurdistan the region lags, due in large part to the mini-Caliphate that operated there for several years.
Cheers,
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