Kurdistan Region President, Massoud Barzani thanked Saturday during a meeting with German deputy Minister of Defense, Marcos Corbell Germany for supporting Peshmerga forces in its fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Syria and Iraq. "German military aid to Kurdistan has played a significant part in Peshmerga victories over Islamic State", Barzani said. Barzani added that Peshmerga defeated IS militants in several provinces, pointing out that it liberated an area of 20000 square kilometers within a short period. Meanwhile, Corbell praised Kurdistan for fighting IS, promising to continue the German support to the Kurdish forces. The Peshmerga is the military force of Iraqi Kurdistan, which decided in August 2014 to fight against IS after it seized large areas in Iraq and Syria.