The U.S. has agreed to supply weapons to Kurdish forces battling Islamic State jihadists who have wreaked havoc across northern Iraq, officials announced Monday.
Government officials did not say what types of weapons are being provided to Kurdish troops as they slowly subdue IS fighters. Two towns that were overrun by the rebels were taken back on Sunday, a victory aided by U.S. air strikes that began last week, the Associated Press reported.
The decision to supply arms comes after the U.S. said it would only sell weapons to Iraq's government in Baghdad. But it appears intervention was needed to assist Kurdish troops who were unable to contain the jihadist threat.
A State Department spokesperson said there is nothing out of the ordinary about the government changing its mind.
The Islamic State has "obtained some heavy weaponry, and the Kurds need additional arms and we're providing those- there's nothing new here," Jen Psaki told the AP.
Psaki said the U.S has also bolstered Baghdad's efforts to deliver "badly needed arms" to the northern Kurdish region. Iraq "has made deliveries from its own stocks and we are working to do the same," she told the AP.
The decision also reflects the Obama administration's position to help Iraqi forces defeat the militants instead of sending U.S troops. On Friday, the first of limited air strikes were launched near the Kurdish region capital of Erbil to prevent IS convoys from reaching the city. Five more air strikes were carried out on Sunday, destroying several armed militant vehicles, Fox News reported.
President Barack Obama said the U.S. is prepared to continue the air strikes to protect American officials and Iraqi citizens in the region, including thousands of religious minorities that were chased into the Sinjar Mountains after receiving death threats from the Sunni militants.
The airstrikes mark the most extensive military intervention in Iraq since the end of the war in 2011.
"I don't think we're going to solve this problem in weeks," Obama said on Saturday according to Fox News. "This is going to be a long-term project."
