Asayish_(Kurdistan_Regional_Government)
Asayish (Kurdistan Region)
Kurdistan Region's Security Agency
Asayîş or Asayish (Kurdish for security[1]) is the Kurdish security organization and the primary intelligence agency operating in the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The organization was established in September 1993[2] and has been often referred to as an "intelligence agency",[3] "security force",[3] "security service",[4] "security",[5] "secret service",[6] "secret police",[7] or just "Kurdish police."[3] Asayish coordinates and shares information with Parastin u Zanyari, the investigative arms and intelligence gatherers operating in the Kurdistan region in Iraq.
It acts under the command of the Kurdistan Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government.[2]
Its official goals according to the Kurdistan Regional Government are the following:
- Counter-drug trafficking
- Counter-terrorism
- Counter-espionage
- Gathering intelligence
- Assessing threats to the region's national security.
The organization has jurisdiction over:
- Economic crimes
- Smuggling
- Political crimes
- Espionage
- Sabotage
- Terrorism.