His youngest daughter was getting on the school bus in front of the Erbil International School this afternoon.
The photo was taken from a very close distance, clear enough to see the cartoon stickers on the girl's backpack.
The email had no text, only photos.
But the message was crystal clear: We know your family, we know your whereabouts, we know everything about you.
These three "gifts" would trigger a chain reaction in three different decision-making circles within the next twelve hours.
And what Song Heping needed to do was wait for these reactions to ferment along the path he had designed.
At the same time, twenty kilometers north of Kirkuk, in Barzani's temporary command post.
Barzani himself was standing in front of a field map, making a final rehearsal for the upcoming offensive.
The command post was set up in an abandoned pumping station, with concrete walls half a meter thick, able to withstand shelling.
