Russia delivers million rounds of ammunition to Kurdistan Peshmerga
The Kurdistan Region received one million rounds of ammunition from Moscow in late July as part of preparation for the Mosul assault, a Kurdish official confirmed on Monday.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Region received one million rounds of ammunition from Moscow in late July as part of preparation for the Mosul offensive, a Kurdish official confirmed on Monday.
The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) office in Moscow Aso Talabani stated that Russia had delivered another batch of military support to the Peshmerga in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).
“About two weeks ago, Russia sent another plane to Erbil,” Talabani told Russian Interfax news agency.
“It consisted of around a million rounds of ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns designated for the preparation of the assault on Mosul,” he added.
Moreover, Russia’s adviser for the Russian Consulate General in Erbil Evgeny Arzhantsey confirmed the news to the same agency.
Arzhantsey said that the shipment was delivered to the KRG based on a prior agreement with the federal government of Iraq.
The adviser revealed that the shipment consisted of 940,000 rounds of ammunition.
The packages were delivered to Baghdad on July 31 and then transferred to Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region.
It is the second shipment from Moscow to Erbil. The first batch was sent in March 2016 containing five anti-aircrafts with 19 thousand rounds of ammunition.
According to Talabani, it would not be the last shipment of Russia’s military support to the Kurdish forces, but the date of the next batch remains unknown.
Recently, Peshmerga forces cleared 11 villages from IS in less than two days in the east of Mosul.
The successful military operation was supervised by the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and supported by the US-led coalition warplanes.
Peshmerga is labeled one of the most efficient ground forces in defeating the jihadists.
The Kurdish forces and officials complain to the international community for not supplying sufficient weapons while Peshmerga fights on behalf of the world.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany