SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The U.S.-led Coalition forces have funded more than $5 billion of support to equip and train Iraqi and Kurdish forces since 2014, the operation inherent resolve said.
The Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said the funds go to a wide range of materials from a small 9-cent washer to repair a vehicle, to a $13 million equipment set for a full Peshmerga brigade.
In November, the U.S. military handed over 150 Humvees and a number of trucks and equipment including weapons to Infantry Brigades 14 and 16 of the Peshmerga Ministry during a ceremony in Erbil.
The CJTF-OIR said it oversees the execution of the U.S. Counter Islamic State (ISIS) Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) program, funded through the U.S. Defense Department’s budget for the Operation Inherent Resolve.
“From 2014-2020, the CJTF-OIR CTEF program divested or obligated more than $5 billion to its partner security forces,” the CJTF-OIR told Esta Media Network late on Wednesday, referring to the Iraqi and Peshmerga forces.
“CJTF-OIR uses CTEF to directly increase and enable its key lines of effort – enhance partner force readiness and capabilities, ensure regional security at national borders and historic ISIS operating areas, and further develop force protection/COVID mitigation for partner forces.”
Coalition forces spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said in a tweet on Wednesday that the Coalition had funded $5 billion of support to equip, train and mentor more than 240,000 members of Iraqi forces, including 55,000 Peshmerga.
“Both are effective combat forces and operate independently,” Marotto tweeted.
The Coalition further said the program is “currently authorized by U.S. Congress through 2022, and will remain active for an additional two years following the conclusion of Operation Inherent Resolve.”
The Coalition Forces led by the United States was formed in 2014 when ISIS militants overran large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. The Coalition backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces to defeat ISIS militants in the country.
