US gives Peshmerga more military aid

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -  The United States delivered another batch of military aid to the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces on Tuesday, with the US consulate in Erbil calling it a “significant milestone.”

“Today we provided important equipment to @KRG_MOPE marking a significant milestone in building the capacity of the #Peshmerga Forces. This weaponry will enhance the Peshmerga Forces’ collective security capabilities to ensure the enduring Iraqi-led defeat of ISIS [Islamic State],” the US consulate in Erbil said in a post on X. 

The aid was given to the Peshmerga in a ceremony in Erbil attended by top military officials. 

“Another convoy of aid and assistance from the coalition, which consisted of a number of howitzer artillery was presented by the [global] Coalition to the Ministry of Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and then handed over to the two commands of the Support Forces (1 and 2) of the Ministry of Peshmerga in a ceremony,” the Peshmerga ministry said in a statement. 

Minister Shoresh Ismail thanked the coalition for the aid and emphasized the importance of the equipment for the Peshmerga.

"The region is heading towards an invisible complexity, and if there is a threat to our country, we must confront it with one voice and oneness,” he said. 

When ISIS seized swathes of the Iraqi and Syria territories in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance to defeat ISIS territorially in 2017. 

The United States has provided the Peshmerga with several rounds of military aid over the years.

Babakir Zebari, a military advisor at the Kurdistan Region Presidency, told Rudaw in June that the Iraqi government does not allow the global coalition against ISIS to provide the Peshmerga forces with drones and other weapons to defend themselves from attacks.