Official says: The U.S. is Sending Arms to the Kurds in their Battle Against ISIS Militants

Kurds (Good Guys)

The United States is sending weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq who have begun to roll back gains made by Sunni militants, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

A senior State Department official told The Associated Press that the Kurds are "getting arms from various sources. They are being rearmed."

Kurds

Providing weapons to Kurdish forces is a reversal of U.S. policy, which previously had only allowed for selling arms directly to the Iraqi government. In recent days, the U.S. military has been helping facilitate weapons deliveries from the Iraqis to the Kurds, providing logistical assistance and transportation to the north.

ISIS (Bad Guys)

Sources say the weapons from the U.S. will not be provided directly from the Pentagon. Officials wouldn't say which agency is spearheading the effort, though the CIA historically has done similar arming operations.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf noted that the administration previously mentioned the new arms deliveries, which she suggested are being made to contend with the "heavy weaponry" obtained by Islamic militants.

ISIS

"The Kurds need additional arms and we're providing those," she said in a statement.

The move to directly aid the Kurds underscores the level of U.S. concern about the Islamic State militants' gains in the north, and reflects the persistent administration view that the Iraqis must take the necessary steps to solve their own security problems.

Kurdish Peshmerga special forces

Kurdish forces have proven to be the most effective fighters against the Islamic State (IS), the militant group formerly known as ISIS. On Sunday, with the help of U.S. airstrikes, Kurdish forces pushed the militants out of the northern Iraq villages of Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 27 miles from Irbil. President Obama authorized the airstrikes to protect U.S. interests and personnel in the region, including at facilities in Irbil, as well as Yazidi refugees fleeing militants.

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