First tranche of German military aid to Kurdish forces arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com)— Having already provided humanitarian aid, a German cargo plane carrying military equipment – but not weapons – departed for Iraq. When Kurdish fighters could start firing the German guns they want remains unclear.

There are 70 tons of military equipment packed into boxes, attached to 22 pallets and wrapped in netting for the trip from Germany to Erbil, the capital city of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Lt. Col. Christoph von Löwenstern knows precisely what is in it: “On the pallets there is a total of 9,500 pieces of equipment, made up mostly of 4,000 ballistic vests, 4,000 helmets, 700 small radios and 680 night vision telescopes. Also included are materials for mine and munitions searches.” There are, however, no weapons on board. Much of the equipment is the same as what is used by the German armed forces and soon it will be in the hands of Kurdish Peshmerga forces combating “Islamic State” militants in Iraq, von Löwenstern said. Several forklifts lifted the bulky cargo into a giant Russian Antonov 124 cargo plane. The Antanov 124 is one of the largest cargo aircraft in the world and has the advantage of being lowered for loading and unloading and can open in both directions. The plane’s engines produce a deafening roar while the nose and tail open so staff can load the supplies.

The cargo plane is destined to arrive on Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan. The flight should only take five hours, but a stopover in Baghdad is required so Iraqi officials can check the plane’s freight. The Bundeswehr’s previous flights in August to the Kurdish regionswww.Ekurd.netof Iraq contained humanitarian aid and were not subject to searches. But Baghdad’s authorities’ distrust of the Kurds does not play a role in the extra security measures, according to von Löwenstern. “The stopover in Baghdad is a normal process,” he said. “The central government checks if the material listed by the German government is really on-board.” After being checked, the plane will continue its trip to northern Iraq. In Erbil, the supplies will be delivered to staff from the German General Consulate as representatives of the German Foreign Ministry. A German team on the ground in Erbil will then coordinate the transfer of goods to local governments. Records of who receives what equipment are kept to ensure the supplies reach their intended destination. /End/