Coalition to provide Peshmerga with artillery, says senior commander

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Provided by the US-led coalition against ISIS, the Kurdistan Region’s artillery battalions are set to receive cannons by August this year, a top Kurdish commander announced on Thursday.

The remarks by Lieutenant General Sihad Barzani, the commander of the Peshmerga’s Support I Force, came following a ceremony held to celebrate the graduation of artillery cadets in Erbil. 

"We have been told that a number of cannons will be delivered in August," Barzani told reporters, without elaborating further on the US-provided artillery pieces.

Training on the new heavy weapons is expected to be provided by the coalition forces, the commander added. 

Barzani hailed the aid as "important" for the Peshmerga forces that had defeated ISIS along with Iraqi forces, with the material and aerial support from the US-led coalition members in 2017. 

Delivering his remarks at the ceremony, attended by members of the coalition and top Kurdish commanders, Barzani said the threat from terrorism is not over. He hailed the "readiness" of the Region's forces in protecting the Kurdish people against terrorist threats.

In addition to providing military aid to the Kurdish forces, the Coalition's members, particularly the US, UK, Netherlands, and Germany, have engaged in a comprehensive reform program to unify and modernize the Kurdish forces since 2014.  

The Support I Force, led by Barzani, was one of the military units that has been brought under the command and leadership of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. The forces were previously commanded by Unit 80 of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).