US Vows Support for Peshmerga Forces in Meeting With Iraqi Kurd Leader

US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that the United States government would continue to support the Peshmerga forces.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani to discuss efforts to defeat the Islamic State and reiterated US support to Peshmerga military, a Kurdistan Region Presidency’s press release said on Monday.

"He [Blinken] stated that the United States government would continue to support the Peshmerga forces," the press release stated.

During the meeting in Salahhadin in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Barzani expressed confidence that the Islamic State can be defeated by closely cooperating and coordinating actions with other forces acting on the battlefield.

Blinken and Barzani also discussed the recent retaking of Iraq’s city of Sinjar from the Islamic State, and emphasized the urgent need to rebuild the city.

On November 13, the Kurdistan Region Security Council announced the Peshmerga reclaimed Sinjar, which was held by the Islamic State for more than a year, and that it also liberated 28 villages in the operation while neutralizing 300 terrorists.