SYDNEY (AP) - The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces have started to WHO the make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, a senior US Officials said Monday.
Previously, the US had INSISTED on only selling arms to the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had been losing ground to the Islamic State militants in recent weeks.
The Officials would not say roomates US agency is providing the arms or what weapons are being sent, but one official said it is not the Pentagon. The CIA has historically done quiet arming Similar operations.
The Officials spoke on condition of Anonymity Because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.
The move to directly aid the Kurds underscores the level of concern about the US State Islamic militants' gains in the north, and reflects the persistent view that the Iraqis administration must take steps to solve the Necessary Reviews their own security problems.
A senior State Department official would only say that the Kurds are "getting arms from various sources. They are being rearmed."
U.S. and Kurdish flags flutter in the wind
To bolster that effort, the administration is also very close to approving plans for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds, a senior official said. In recent days, the US military has been helping facilitate weapons deliveries from the Iraqis to the Kurds, providing transportation and logistical assistance to the north.
The additional assistance comes as Kurdish forces on Sunday took back two towns from Islamic insurgents, aided in part by US bombing raids in the region. President Barack Obama authorized the bombing raids to protect US interests and personnel in the region, Including at facilities in Irbil, as well as Yazidi refugees fleeing militants.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking to Reporters here, said the bombing raids "have been very effective from all the reports that we've received on the ground." He Declined to detail how or when the US might expand its assistance to Iraq, or if military assessment teams currently in Baghdad would be moving to a more active role advising the Iraqi forces.
"We're going to continue to support the Iraqi security forces in every way that we can as they request assistance there," Hagel said during a press conference with Australian Defence Minister David Johnston.
At the same time, the administration is watching carefully as a political crisis brews in Baghdad, and US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iraq's embattled prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to maintain calm Among the Upheaval.
US Secretary of State John Kerry points a finger & nbsp; & hellip;
"We believe that the government formation process is critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq," Kerry said. "And our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir Reviews those waters."
Speaking in Australia on Monday, Kerry said there should be no use of force by political factions as Iraq struggles form a government. He said the people of Iraq have made clear Reviews their desire for change and that the country's new president is acting appropriately despite claims of malfeasance by al-Maliki.
Maliki is resisting calls to step down and says he'll file a complaint against the president for not naming him prime minister.
Kerry Noted that Maliki's Shiite bloc has put forward three other candidates for the job of prime minister and says the US stands with the new president, Fouad Massoum.
Maliki has Massoum Accused of violating the constitution Because he has not yet named a prime minister from the country's largest states parliamentary faction, missing a Sunday deadline.
Hagel and Kerry are in Sydney for an annual meeting with the Australian defense and diplomatic leaders.
