Germany will send enough weapons to arm 4,000 Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq battling against Islamic State insurgents, whose advances threaten to destabilize the Middle East, the defense minister said on Sunday.

The equipment will include armor-piercing weapons like anti-tank rockets, thousands of assault rifles, hand grenades, mine-clearing equipment, night-vision goggles, field kitchens and tents.

"The weapons delivery is enough to supply a brigade of 4,000 soldiers," said Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen.