Britain to send 1.6 mln pounds arms to Iraq

LONDON - The British government will send a consignment of heavy machine guns and ammunition worth 1.6 million pounds ($2.6 million) to Iraq's government to help fight the Islamic State (ISIS), said the British Ministry of Defence Tuesday.

The equipments, scheduled to arrive in Iraq on Wednesday and would cost estimated 475,000 pounds in shipping, were at the request of the Iraq's government, according to a statement of the Ministry of Defence.

The British government believed that this would give the Kurdish Peshmerga forces additional firepower in order to help them defend the front line, protect civilians and push back the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) advances.

"I am pleased that we will supply weapons to the Kurdish forces who are at the front line of combating their violent extremism," said British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon.

"We have already provided body armour and other protective equipment as well as ammunition from our partners; these weapons will help the Kurdish forces in taking the fight to these barbaric terrorists," said Fallon.

The statement also said that Britain was committed to assisting the government of Iraq by providing humanitarian assistance, helping Iraq to push back ISIL advances and restore stability and security across the country.