Some four Transall C-160 aircraft departed Hohn Air Base in the north, carrying first aid and military aid destined for Iraq, German news magazine Der Spiegel said quoting military sources.
The German military, Bundeswehr, had recently agreed to supply sides fighting the militants with "non-lethal" military aid.

These include body armour, night-vision goggles, mine-detection gear and armoured vehicles. This equipment will be supplied alongside humanitarian aid, like tents, water and food.

The planes will land in Turkey, ahead of their arrival in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Kirkuk.

In the meantime, Chancellor Merkel has said that supplying the Iraqi army with weapons would require a "legal cover." If this were needed Germany would provide this "cover," she said, adding that her country would continue working alongside allies, particularly the US, on achieving this.

She described the persecution currently being faced by Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in Iraq at the hands of ISIL as "shocking." Putting a stop to extremist groups and the terrorising of people is a responsibility that whole international community should bear, she added.

She also drew a link between dispatching weapons to Iraq and German interests, saying that these interests would determine any apparent decision.

Kuna