In an interview with Fairfax Media, the Minister for Peshmerga Affairs, Mustafa Sayid Qadir, confirmed munitions delivered by Australia to Erbil had arrived on September 2 and 7. A third delivery arrived on a undetermined date. Mr Qadir thanked Australia for its assistance in dealing with the crisis facing the citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan.

"We had such a great need for ammunition that it was like a thirsty man suddenly being given water," he said.

"This is a war that we are all fighting against ISIS [also known as ISIL]; this is not just our war. ISIS has brought jihadists from all over the world to fight here and it is everybody's duty to assist us in this battle."

He said the Peshmerga were co-ordinating with the Kurdish secret service, known as Asaish, Kurdish security police and the Iraqi Army in the fight against the Sunni militants.

"Three loads of munitions are not going to be enough to win this war – it is going to be a long, long fight against an international terrorist group and support from the international community, including Australia, needs to be ongoing," Mr Qadir said.

Fairfax Media has visited several of the most recent disputed territories: the northern town of Amerli that until last week had been held under siege by the Islamic State group for 80 days; the Bartika position near the town of Makhmour about 50 kilometres from Erbil; Kalak on the border between Erbil and Mosul; and around the strategic oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Despite repeated questioning of troop leaders, Fairfax Media has not seen any newly arrived munitions, nor has Fairfax been able to verify what munitions are in use or where they are being used.

Most commanders cite security concerns for their reticence to discuss the issue; they do not want to alert the Sunni insurgents where any new weapons supplies might be headed to avoid a possible attack on those convoys or troop positions.

The security situation in the autonomous Kurdistan region and in the Iraqi towns and villages to the north near Mosul and Tikrit, which have been under the control of the Islamic State group since June, and the west in Anbar province, remains tense and fragile.

Although an alliance of Iraqi Army soldiers, Shiite militia, local militia and Peshmerga managed to free the Turkoman Shiite town of Amerli from its months-long siege, Islamic militants have yet to be pushed out of several outlying Sunni villages.

The situation in another Shiite town, Basheer, which is just a few kilometres south of Kirkuk, remains precarious, despite Iraqi military air strikes and Peshmerga activity in the area. When Fairfax Media attempted to visit the frontline this week, we were turned back. Local Peshmerga forces said there was too much "unusual troop" activity in the area from Islamic State fighters.

US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that the US was expanding its air operations in Iraq to target Islamic State positions across the border in Syria. He also announced a further 475 US military personnel would be sent to Iraq to join the more than 1000 already in the country, but said they would not have a combat role.