Germany to Begin Supplying Kurds With Weapons to Fight Islamic State

The German government voted on Sunday evening, Aug. 31, to send a wealth of military equipment to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. The equipment is to be used to assist the Kurdish fighters, the Peshmerga, in the fight against the jihadist murderers of the Islamic State.

Germany approved the supply of 16,000 assault rifles, 10,000 hand grenades, 500 anti-tank missiles, 40 machine guns and 240 rocket-propelled grenades to the 4000 Peshmerga troops battling the threat from the IS.

The weapons to be delivered, in addition to those already supplied to the Kurdish fighters, plus humanitarian supplies, are worth approximately 70 million Euros.

The situation in Iraq is "extremely critical," Germany's Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said. The Islamic State exhibits "merciless brutality" and it is the "humanitarian responsibility and in our security policy interest to help the suffering and stop the IS," von der Leyen declared.

The Germans have already supplied the Kurds with bullet-proof vests, helmets and night vision goggles. The United States began supplying the Kurdish peshmerga militia more than a month ago, and France is also prepared to provide weapons to the Kurdish forces.