A high-ranking Iraqi official on Sunday said security agencies have uncovered a secret weapons deal between the autonomous Kurdistan region and an unnamed foreign country. "Iraqi security agencies (discovered) a secret weapons deal between the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Massud Barzani, and a foreign country," the security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"The weapons include anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles, and a large number of heavy weapons," the official said, without specifying the exact weapons systems.
The official said Iraqi authorities have obtained "all the documents" pertaining to the deal, which is for "weapons of a Russian type made in 2004," and are trying to block it.
"This step is a breach of the law and the Iraqi constitution, because the only side that can (buy arms) is the federal ministry of defence," the official said.
Several Kurdish officials either declined to comment on the allegation or could not immediately be reached by AFP. For its part Baghdad has ordered 36 F-16 warplanes from the United States, and has already fielded M1 Abrams tanks.