US authorizes $295.6 million military equipment sale to Iraq for Peshmerga units
Smoke rises during clashes between Peshmerga forces and Daesh in the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Daesh militants in Mosul, November 7, 2016. (REUTERS Photo)


The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of $295.6 million worth of military equipment to Iraq for artillery and infantry Kurdish peshmerga units, a Pentagon agency said on Wednesday.

The equipment requested by the Iraqi government would outfit two peshmerga infantry brigades and two support artillery battalions, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Congress was notified of the approval on Tuesday, and the notice does not mean the sale has been concluded, the agency said.