Kurdish officials say they’re facing financial crisis

Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's foreign relations department, answers a reporter's question during a Newsmaker interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Officials from the Kurds’ semiautonomous region of northern Iraq told The Associated Press that without help from the U.S. or its allies, the Kurds’ fighting force, known as the Peshmerga, will be hampered in their fight against IS. (AP Photo/J. David Ake) Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's foreign relations department, answers a reporter's question during a Newsmaker interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Officials from the Kurds’ semiautonomous region of northern Iraq told The Associated Press that without help from the U.S. or its allies, the Kurds’ fighting force, known as the Peshmerga, will be hampered in their fight against IS. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

By Associated Press January 14, 2016 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Iraqi Kurds are urgently asking the U.S. to help ease their budget crisis made worse by slumping oil prices and 1.8 million refugees from fighting in Iraq and Syria.

Officials from the Kurds’ semiautonomous region in northern Iraq tell The Associated Press that without help, the Kurds’ fighting force, known as the peshmerga, will be hampered in their fight against the Islamic State.

Iraqi Kurds field one of the most effective ground forces fighting IS militants.

The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s foreign relations department, Falah Mustafa Bakir (Bah-keer), says the Kurds are hoping to get U.S. assistance to care for refugees and displaced Iraqis and cover expenses of Kurdish fighters.

With the backing of U.S.-led airstrikes, the Kurds retaken significant territory from IS in northern Syria.