Kurdish fighters in Iraq have asked for weapons supply from Germany and other countries as they struggle to drive away Islamic militants that have killed several of their members and hundreds of other religious minorities in the country.

Masoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan's president, said Germany's supply of weapons would be beneficial to the Kurds to stop the Islamic State from further controlling Iraq, especially now that the European Union has allowed its member-nations to send aid.

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While Germany has already started sending humanitarian aid to the Kurds, Barzani said weapons and ammunition are needed to fight back against the "terrorist group" that conquered large swathes of northern Iraq.

Germany is hesitant to send military aid to Iraqi Kurds after a survey showed that the majority of the German population was against the move.

However, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Germany would consider the Kurds' request for weapons, though no assurance was made.

Barzani urged foreign governments to help cut the source of Islamic State's vast funding, which it uses for weapons and ammunitions.

"A grand alliance must drain the IS's financial sources and prevent individuals from aligning themselves with the IS group," he said, according to Reuters.

Barzani said among the sources of Islamic State funds were the oilfields in Syria, where the Islamic militants battled government forces for several years under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Kurdish forces were trying to retake Iraq's largest dam from the militant fighters on Saturday with aerial support from the U.S.

Major General Abdulrahman Korini told AFP that the joint forces have gained control of the eastern side of the Mosul dam, which the Jihadist fighters seized from Iraqi government forces.

U.S. forces joined the battle last week after Islamic fighters started killing hundreds of members of religious minorities in Iraq, forcing tens of thousands of others to leave.

President Barack Obama said the air attacks were ordered to stop the "genocide" of minorities, including the Yazidis, who were forced to convert to Islam or leave the country. Several Yazidis have been beheaded by the Islamic State, according to reports.

The Iraqi government has asked other countries to join the battle to end the war that put the country on the brink of breakup, forcing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to resign.

TagsIraq, Iraqi Kurds, Kurdish forces, Germany