MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A joint statement issued by the defense ministers of 11 US-led anti-Daesh coalition members following their meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier in the day reaffirmed "strong support…for the deployment of additional enabling capabilities in the near term" to reclaim Mosul and Raqqa.
"Iraqi forces have Daesh on the back foot and are retaking territory, hitting its finances and striking its leadership. Now is the time to build on recent success and we are looking hard at what more we can offer as Iraqi combat operations intensify," Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said.
The defense ministry touted to have carried out the second-most number of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, and stressed the deliveries of nearly 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 1,000 counter-Improvised Explosive Device (c-IED) Vallon detectors, and over 300 tonnes of weapons and equipment.
It highlighted plans to provide $1.44 million worth of ammunition to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters as key partners on the ground in the anti-Daesh efforts, and heralded the training that UK troops provided to 3,400 Peshmerga troops.
