Senior officials have said that the U.S. has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq, who have made gains against Islamic militants, the Associated Press reports.
The officials spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the operation in public.
They revealed the administration is close to approving plans for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds.
The U.S. military had recently been helping to facilitate weapons deliveries to the Kurds from the Iraqis, who had been losing ground to the "Islamic State".
Previously, the U.S. had insisted on only selling arms to the Iraqi government.
The officials refused to provide more specific details about what the weapons are and which agency would be providing them.
MORE: Officials won't say which US agency providing arms or what weapons will be sent to Kurds: http://t.co/CSKLkgUzgi
Historically, the CIA has carried out similar arming deals.