Australia said Sunday it would help the United States in an international effort to transport weapons to Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
“The US government has requested that Australia help to transport stores of military equipment, including arms and ammunitions as part of a multi-nation effort,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement.
“Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft will join aircrafts from other nations including Canada, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the US to conduct this important task.”
Per reports, Albania, Croatia and Denmark have also committed to providing Kurdish forces with arms and equipment.
Abbott said there was a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Iraq and Australia is working with other countries to alleviate it and “address the security threat posed by ISIL”.
The decision followed Australia’s involvement in airdrops earlier in August to refugees in northern Iraq to deliver humanitarian assistance.
The Iraqi government is struggling to retake large parts of the country after a lightning militant offensive led by the IS seized its second city Mosul in June and swept through the country’s Sunni heartland, as security forces fled.
The US military said Saturday it had launched fresh attacks against IS forces in Iraq, with fighter aircraft and drones used to carry out strikes near Mosul dam.
