Czechs to send first shipment of ammunition to Kurds next week

The Czech government will send the first shipment of ammunition to Kurdish forces in Iraq next week, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The Czech government agreed last month to supply $2 million worth of ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns, as well as hand grenades and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, to the Kurds to help them fight Islamic State insurgents who have overrun wide areas of northern Iraq.

A number of countries including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Canada and Albania have committed to providing arms and ammunition to Kurdistan, a part of northern Iraq whose forces are allied with the central Baghdad government.