SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Peshmerga forces have received weapons and equipment from the U.S.-led Coalition forces, worth more than $1 million, the Iraqi military said Wednesday.
Iraqi security media cell said in a tweet that the assistance was to support Iraq in its mission to defeat Islamic State (ISIS) militants and was also part of the Counter ISIS Train and Equip Fund program (CTEF), funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
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.
“The CTEF supports the GoI ongoing fight against Daesh which @CJTFOIR overseas the execution of the grants,” Coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said.
It was the second military assistance this month and the fourth this year to the Peshmerga forces.
On June 10, the Coalition forces handed over more than $3 million worth of weapons and military equipment to the Kurdish forces.
In May, the Peshmerga ministry said it received another amount of aid and assistance from the Coalition forces.
In January, the Coalition forces supplied the Peshmerga forces with more military aid worth around $12.5 million. The assistance included 100 vehicles such as Humvees, light cargo vehicles, tactical armored vehicles and ambulances.
In December, the U.S.-led Coalition forces told Esta Media Network that it had funded more than $5 billion of support to equip and train Iraqi and Kurdish forces since 2014.
