Germany Ready To Deliver Weapons Worth $91 Million To Kurdish Forces

Germany has agreed to deliver weapons and munitions worth a total $91 million to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq in their fight against Islamic State (IS).

The weapons will be delivered in three tranches to a secure region of Iraq that has not been affected by the civil war, according to the German Defense Ministry. An initial partial delivery will leave Germany in the next two weeks and arrive in Irbil via Baghdad. The entire first delivery to northern Iraq will be completed by the end of September. The second and third deliveries will depend on the situation on the ground.

Berlin will send enough weapons to equip a brigade of 4,000 soldiers, according to Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Von der Leyen said parliamentary approval is not required for the weapons deliveries.

Training will take place in Germany or in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, or a third country based on convenience. The deployment of German soldiers for the purpose of training Kurdish forces to use the weapons does not require a parliamentary mandate, according to the Defense Ministry.

Total weapons, munitions, and vehicles to be delivered to Kurds: 8,000 G3 assault rifles; 2 million rounds of ammunition, 8,000 G36 assault rifles; 4 million rounds of ammunition, 40 MG3 heavy machine guns; 1 million rounds of ammunition, 8,000 P1 pistols; 1 million rounds of ammunition, 30 MILAN anti-tank weapons; 500 guided rockets, 200 shoulder-fired Panzerfaust 3 rocket launchers; 2,500 rockets, 40 heavy rocket launchers; 1,000 rockets, 100 flare guns; 400 rounds, 10,000 hand grenades, 40 WOLF jeeps, 20 lightly armored WOLF jeeps, 40 UNIMOG trucks, 1 tanker truck and 5 DINGO-1 armored vehicles.