Berlin to suspend training of Kurdish fighters in N. Iraq

Germany will suspend its training of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq because of the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government, the German Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. Berlin has provided 32,000 assault rifle and machine guns to the Iraqi Kurds, as well as other weapons valued at around €90 million ($106 million) since September 2014, Reuters reports. Approximately 130 German soldiers have been providing training to the Kurdish fighters in Erbil. The Kurdish Peshmerga are leading the campaign against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).