ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The United States has authorized a $2.7 billion loan to the Iraqi army of which $200 is allocated for the Kurdish Peshmerga ministry, according to an understanding signed in Baghdad on Wednesday between Finance Minister Hoshiar Zebari and US Ambassador Stuart Jones. The budget is part of a deal between the two countries to boost the capabilities of the armed forces in Iraq, which have long been under fire for being ill-prepared to maintain security in the country, especially after ISIS offensive in central Iraq two years ago. The long-term loan is planned to help the country upgrade its air force, which Baghdad has sought to modernize over the past years. Iraq has so far received six F-16 warplanes from the US out of a total of 36, worth an estimated $2.3 billion, which the Pentagon has agreed to sell to Baghdad over the coming years. Iraq says it has been using the “smart warplanes” against the ISIS militants since July last year. “The US has already promised to help the Kurdish Peshmarga by $415 million, but I am not aware of Wednesday’s deal which is said to be a loan to the Iraqi army,” said Jabar Yawar at the Peshmarga ministry in Erbil. “But obviously the Kurdish government has frequently asked European donors to also consider the Peshmarga as well when helping Iraqi defense forces,” Yawar said.
