# Lahur Talabani

Lahur Talabani (Kurdish: لاهور تاڵەبانی; born 1975), also known as Lahur Sheikh Jangi Talabani (Kurdish: لاهور شێخ جەنگی تاڵەبانی) is an Iraqi politician, he was the Vice-President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the former Director of the Zanyari Agency and Former Director of the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG). Known commonly as Sheikh Lahur, Talabani was a leading figure in the fight against terror especially in the fight against the Islamic State. After losing a leadership battle and being ousted from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Lahur proceeded to found his own party, the People's Front.

## Political and military career

From 1999 to 2001 Talabani served as the Special Representative of the PUK to Turkey. Having returned to the Kurdistan Region, he co-founded the Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) in 2002, which was established with the support of the United States Military 10th Special Forces Group and the Central Intelligence Agency. Talabani continues to play an integral role in the fight against terrorism. Talabani is a well respected and distinguished figure in the Iraqi political, military and intelligence communities. A staunch ally of the United States and the West, Talabani continues to be an influential and crucial figure in the security and political fields in Middle East and the wider region. Having established strong foundations with key figures in Iraq, Talabani also maintains good relations with prominent Arab leaders and influential Western and Middle Eastern states. Since July 2021 there is a struggle over the leadership go the PUK, in which Bafel Talabani accuses Lahur of poisoning him while Lahur rejects such claims and calls for a resolution within the leadership council of the PUK.

### CTG

In response to the rise of extremist groups in the Hawraman area of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Talabani was instrumental in the creation of Kurdistan's first counter-terrorism elite special forces. Countering terrorism in relatively few numbers at the outset, the CTG forces have grown in number and are considered a well established rapid response unit. Highly trained and well equipped, the CTG forces under Talabani's leadership have repelled and eliminated countless terrorist threats to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

### Ansar al-Islam and Operation Viking Hammer

In 2003 Talabani played a leading role in the decisive Operation Viking Hammer to oust the Ansar al-Islam terrorist organization, which was recognized as a major threat to Kurdistan's national security. The operation's success led to the permanent expulsion of Ansar al-Islam from the Kurdistan Region.

### Leadership battle in the PUK and split-off

After the founder and leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Jalal Talabani, died in 2017, a struggle for the leadership of the party ignited between Jalal's son Bafel Talabani and Lahur Sheikh Jangi. On the PUK's fourth congress in December 2019, Sheikh Jangi received the most votes for the General Leadership Council. In a compromise, he and Bafel were proclaimed co-presidents. In July 2021, Bafel shut down a media outlet close to Sheikh Jangi and ousted several important commanders from the counter-terrorism and intelligence units of the PUK, who were seen as affiliates of him. Shortly after, Bafel was declared the sole leader of the party. In November, Lahur Sheikh Jangi was expelled from the PUK along a few others and Bafel took full control over the party's finances. Sheikh Jangi filed a lawsuit against the expulsion. In February 2023, a court in Erbil ruled, that the ouster from the co-presidency contradicted PUK's internal regulation and reinstated him. A day after however, on February 21, the judicial authority on Iraqi elections in Baghdad declared Bafel Talabani the sole leader of the PUK.
After that, Sheikh Jangi proceeded to work on founding his own party, the People's Front. His new party received its license from the interior ministry on 17 January 2024 and was joined by several former PUK-members from Lahur's wing.

## Zanyari Agency

In 2013, Talabani was appointed as the Director of the Zanyari Agency (the Intelligence Unit of the PUK). Upon his appointment, one of Talabani's first actions was to incorporate the CTG into Zanyari Agency. The new framework adopted by the Agency was a historic shift as it was the first time in the Kurdistan Region that a military entity was integrated into an intelligence agency. Talabani has played a pivotal role in unifying the Kurdish intelligence apparatus as well as modernizing Zanyari to better combat evolving national and regional security threats. Upon becoming director, Talabani developed a strong strategic partnership with his counterparts in other services.

## Personal life

Talabani is married and a father of three children, two sons, and a daughter. Talabani has five brothers and two sisters. He is fluent in Kurdish, English, Turkish, Arabic and Persian. Talabani is an avid football fan and supports Liverpool FC. He takes a keen interest in ancient history and enjoys painting. Lahur is the nephew of Jalal Talabani.