The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is a splinter group of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Under the leadership of Jalal Talabani (also known as Mam Jalal, "Uncle Jalal"), the PUK was formed in June 1975. It remains unclear why Talabani left. The PUK is a coalition of five separate factions, the leading factions being the Komala ("group") and Shorish Geran ("revolution spreaders"). Like the majority of Kurdish groups, the PUK seeks the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. Kurds are indigenous to a geo-cultural region commonly referred to as Kurdistan that is composed of territory from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Estimated at about 30 million people, the Kurds comprise one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world. <P><br />Throughout its history, the PUK has engaged in several different forms of terrorist activities. The group often targets their Kurdish rivals in the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and is also often the victim of KDP attacks. In 1998, however, the two groups signed a peace agreement and now share control of the Kurdistan Regional Government. <P><br /><br />During the 1980s, the PUK was also involved in numerous kidnappings of foreign nationals. The kidnappings were part of a campaign by the PUK to curb foreign support for Saddam Hussein's government and his oppressive policies towards the Kurds.  In these situations, hostages were later released unharmed.  In addition, members of the PUK launched frequent, often devastating attacks against Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq War as a result of the group's alliance with Iran. However, Talabani and the PUK also entered into talks with the Iraqi government regarding an agreement during the war to help repel Iranian troops in return for autonomy. These talks eventually fell through and the PUK continued its attacks on Iraqi soldiers. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Syria was one of the principal supporters of the PUK, even hosting leader Jalal Talabani after he was exiled from Iraq for his cooperation with Iran. <P><br />During the Gulf War of 2003, forces from the PUK assisted the US-led coalition in its overthrow of Saddam Hussein and, together with the KDP, were the principal US allies fighting in the north. Recently PUK militiamen, allied with US coalition forces, have also been involved in the expulsion of Kurdish Islamist groups (such as Ansar al-Islam) from their territory in Sulaymaniyah. Kurdish Islamists oppose the PUK's secular policies and seek to establish an independent, Islamic state for Kurds. <br />