WATCH: Trump to Kurdistan 24: Kurds are great people, incredible fighters

The Kurds are "incredible fighters" and "great people," US President Donald Trump told a Kurdistan 24 correspondent on Thursday during the NATO summit in Brussels.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurds are "incredible fighters" and "great people," US president Donald Trump told a Kurdistan 24 correspondent on Thursday during the NATO summit in Brussels.

“I think the Kurds are great people, they are incredible fighters, they are wonderful, warm, intelligent allies in many cases, as you know, it’s different groups of people. But they are great people, I do believe they are great people,” US president Donald Trump responded to Kurdistan 24 reporter Barzan Hassan.

The comment was in response to a question by Hassan as to whether or not the US would continue to support Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq, a question Trump did not directly address.

Last week, Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), received a US delegation led by Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (IS).

Since Baghdad’s assault on Kirkuk last October, IS has posed an increasing threat in northern Iraq. The US-led coalition has responded by stepping up coordination with the Peshmerga.

McGurk affirmed that the US would continue to support both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Moreover, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Gen. Joseph Votel, told Kurdistan 24 in an interview in June that the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), along with the Coalition, must all work together to ensure the lasting defeat of the Islamic State (IS).

Editing by John J. Catherine