Iraq to Get GBP 1.6 M of Arms from UK Wednesday

A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier looks through binoculars from his post at the Kurdish town of Makhmur, some 65 km southwest of Erbil, northern Iraq, 08 September 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The UK said on Tuesday it is donating heavy machine guns and ammunition to the Iraqi government to help it counter attacks by Islamic State jihadist group.

According to UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, arms and ammunition worth about GBP 1.6 M were being sent to Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, including the Kurdish regional government.

Transport costs are estimated at GBP 475,000 and the equipment is due to arrive in Iraq on Wednesday.

Kurdish fighters, who have been battling Islamic State militants since April alongside Iraqi government forces “remain significantly less well equipped than” the fighters of the jihadist group that has taken control of large territories of Iraq and Syria, Fallon said.

News of the donation of military equipment followed the formation of a new government in Iraq led by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that is sharing power between the Shia Arab majority, Sunni Arabs and Kurds, the BBC said.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond had said earlier that it was vital that all political blocs in Iraq work together to overcome the threat posed by Islamic State.

 

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