Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region is calling on the United States to help it ease a budget crisis caused by the fight against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, people displaced by the war in Iraq and Syria, and slumping oil prices.
Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the Kurdistan regional government's foreign relations department, told the Associated Press on January 14 that without help from the U.S. or its allies, the Kurds' fighting force will be hampered in their fight against IS militants.
Bakir, who is visiting the Unites States along with other Kurdish officials, said he was asking the Pentagon to help cover expenses of the Kurdish fighters.
The officials also hope that the State Department or USAID could offer the Kurdish government money to provide assistance to the 1.8 million people who have fled fighting.
"They are taking this issue seriously, trying to see how and what kind of help they will be able to offer," Bakir said.
