Washington delivers advanced military aid to Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States delivered a new batch of military equipment to the Kurdistan Region on Tuesday as part of efforts to strengthen Peshmerga forces, combat terrorism, and back reform in the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.

The aid consisted of 150 Humvees, transport vehicles, fuel transport vehicles, and various weaponry to be distributed to the 14th and 16th Peshmerga Brigades.

US officials handed over the delivery at a ceremony in Erbil that was attended by Minister of Peshmerga Shorsh Ismail and Brigadier General E. John Teichert, the senior defense official and defense attaché-Iraq at the US Embassy in Baghdad.

"Armored vehicles and military equipment with modern military standards will be another important opportunity to strengthen our forces,” Ismail said in a speech, adding, “We appreciate the role of the US army and we are working to strengthen and continue this cooperation."

"The Kurds and the Peshmerga will not forget this aid."

Washington committed almost $250 million in security assistance to the Ministry of Peshmerga in mid-September.

Read More: US pledges nearly $250 million in military equipment to Kurdistan Region

Ismail explained that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is working to strengthen relations with security forces of the Iraqi federal government, especially in territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad where Kurdish officials have long warned that a security vacuum continues to allow the Islamic State to operate, saying, "We will work together to maintain the security and stability of the residents of those areas and in order to break the thorn of ISIS and defeat it." 

For years, federal Iraqi and Peshmerga forces had jointly provided security in the disputed territories much more effectively than Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have proven to be capable of, ever since they attacked Peshmerga and pushed them from the areas as part of Baghdad's hostile response to the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum. 

Islamic State attacks, however, are not limited to the disputed territories. On Sunday, an assault on security forces in the capital of Baghdad left 11 dead and at least eight more wounded.

Read More: Renewed ISIS attack leaves over 10 dead in Baghdad: sources

"We are now in a sensitive stage to confront terrorism and we feel the dangers of ISIS and the movements of its elements in those areas," Ismail concluded.

In addition, Brigadier General Teichert said that the military equipment provided is a "clear sign of the long-term and deep relationship between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the United States."

Editing by John J. Catherine