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US sending weapons to Iraqi Kurds fighting ISIL

Iran Press TV

Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:56PM GMT

The US government is supplying weapons to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq who are engaged in a fierce battle with ISIL Takfiri terrorists, according to senior US officials.

Iraqi Kurds are "getting arms from various sources, they are being rearmed," senior US State Department officials said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.

'We're working with the government of Iraq to increasingly and very quickly get urgently needed arms to the Kurds," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed to CNN.

The officials would not say which US agency is providing the weapons or what types of arms are being delivered, but one official said it is not the Defense Department.

However, the Obama administration is very close to approving plans for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds as well, another senior official said.

Historically, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has conducted similar secret arming operations.

US President Barack Obama authorized on Thursday the use of targeted airstrikes on ISIL positions to protect American personnel in the region and also help the Iraqi refugees under siege by the terrorist group.

This comes as France also called on the European Union (EU) to mobilize to respond to the Kurds' demand for arms. EU envoys are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Iraq.

ISIL, which controls parts of Syria, has sent its fighters into neighboring Iraq in recent months and quickly seized large swaths of territory straddling the border between the two countries.

The militants have terrorized entire Iraqi communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others while executing a large number of civilians and soldiers.

The rapid gains of ISIL militants in Iraq have alarmed the Obama administration. The move to directly arm Iraq's Kurds underscores the level of US concern about the group's advances and possible threat to US interests.

Iraqi security forces say ISIL terrorists have taken full control of the key town of Jalawla in Diyala province, following two days of fierce clashes with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. At least 10 Kurdish fighters have been killed and dozens more wounded in the battles there.

AHT/HRJ