Australia to fly guns and ammunition to Iraq as forces reclaim Amerli

An Australian military aircraft will soon fly guns and ammunition to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil to help Kurds fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants as part of a U.S.-led multination mission, Australia’s prime minister said on Sunday. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his government would join the United States, Britain, Canada, France and Italy in delivering rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and assault rifle ammunition at the request of the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Australia will use air force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster planes based at al-Minhad Air Base outside Dubai to deliver weapons and ammunition provided by East European countries.

None of us want to get involved in another Middle Eastern war, but it is important to do what reasonably can be done to avert potential genocide.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Government forces, mainly composed of Kurdish peshmerga fighters and armed volunteers, broke through ISIL’s siege on the town of Amerli on Sunday. An estimated 12,000 people have been trapped in the town located between Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk, for over two months with dwindling food and water. On Saturday, the U.S. military attacked the militants’ positions and dropped humanitarian aid to trapped civilians, mostly Shia Turkmen minority. U.S. jets and drones have also attacked the Islamic extremists group’s positions near Iraq’s Mosul Dam.

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