Germany To Send Weapons To Kurds Fighting ISIS

The German government will send high-end rifles, tank-busting weapons and armored vehicles to aid Kurdish fighters battling Islamic extremists in Iraq.

The Defense Ministry said Sunday that the arms, together with protective gear and communications equipment, are enough for 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Three shipments will be made starting at the end of September, including 8,000 G36 assault rifles and the same number of G3 rifles, as well as ammunition; 200 Panzerfaust 3 bazookas and 30 long-range MILAN anti-tank systems; and five heavily armored Dingo infantry vehicles.

Germany joins other European countries who have pledged to provide arms to the Kurds fighting the Islamic State group that has swept into northern Iraq in recent months.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the arms would complement humanitarian aid that Berlin is sending to help civilians uprooted by the fighting.

[Associated Press]