Canada is committing two cargo planes to move military supplies into northern Iraq as part of the international effort to bolster Kurdish forces in the embattled region.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says a CC-177 Globemaster and a CC-130J Hercules transport will begin shuttling arms provided by allies to the Iraqi city of Irbil over the next few days.
The flights, which include some 30 Canadian Forces personnel, will continue as long as there is equipment and supplies to move.
The U.S. and France are already sending weapons, while Britain has indicated it's also prepared to help arm the Kurdish forces fighting militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
The al-Qaida splinter group's hardline militants have already seized large parts of northern Iraq.
The military aircraft are in addition to the $5 million in humanitarian aid committed last weekend by the Conservative government.
