Baghdad – WAA
Today, Thursday, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense issued a clarification regarding the issue of howitzers allocated to the Peshmerga forces.
The ministry said in a statement received by the (INA): “In response to what is being circulated in the media and social networking sites regarding the issue of (105) mm howitzers, allocated to the Peshmerga forces, we would like to clarify the following in this regard:
1. The contract to purchase the cannons was signed during the time of the Minister of Defense, Mr. Irfan Al-Hayali, and was modified during the time of the Minister of Defense, Juma Anad.
2. The amounts of the cannons were paid before the formation of the current government.
3. The cannons arrived at Umm Qasr port on November 20, 2023.
4. The cannons have not been delivered to the Peshmerga Ministry, despite a year having passed since their arrival at Umm Qasr port.
5. The cannons were delivered based on a memorandum from the Chief of Staff of the Army to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and after taking all necessary measures.
The ministry confirmed – according to the statement – that “the Peshmerga forces are a national force whose loyalty to Iraq is beyond doubt, and that the issue of the previously mentioned cannons occurred more than seven years ago and the cannons were not handed over until after taking the necessary measures for this issue.”
The ministry called on the media not to be drawn into lies and fabrications issued by non-specialists regarding topics related to the ministry, according to the statement.