US Denies German Soldiers Vital Military Equipment – German Media

The United States reportedly is denying German soldiers important reconnaissance equipment to protect them from attacks from Islamic State in Iraq, according to the German newspaper Bild.

German soldiers in Iraq are at risk as the US denies them vital military equipment that could ensure their survival, Bild reported.

"Without the American equipment we are blind," the paper quoted German security circles as saying.

Since February 2015, German soldiers have been training Kurdish militias in Iraq to fight against the ISIS terrorist group. The training camp is located in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, just 50 kilometers away from the front.

The dangerous location forced German authorities to build a special system for German soldiers’ protection. The system requires advanced equipment to monitor the communications and movement of the Islamic terrorists.

The equipment was expected to be delivered from the US. Several weeks ago, German authorities forwarded a relevant request to the United States, but have still not received any answer.

The newspaper suggests that this could be a sort of punishment for Germany’s indiscretions regarding the recent spying scandal when it became known that Germany carried out espionage activities at the request of the NSA.

According to a US official, there are fears that the new “high-performance” equipment may become subject to inspection by the German committee of inquiry which started its work in late March 2014 to investigate the spying activities of foreign intelligence services in Germany.