Azernews.Az

(AP, August 31) – A $44 million Pentagon military aid package included nearly $10 million for Azerbaijan, The Associated Press reported with reference to documents obtained by the agency.

The aid aimed at improving the counterterrorism capabilities of the naval special forces includes small boats, engines, diving gear and training.

The Pentagon is sending more than $25 million in military equipment, small boats and other support to Tunisia and Malta.

Lithuania and Hungary were also included in the funding plan.

The funding was recently approved by Pentagon officials and sent to Capitol Hill as part of a notification process before the equipment can be delivered.

Up to $350 million in military aid can be distributed this year to support counterterror operations in other countries. The Pentagon routinely releases the military aid in three or four installments each year.

The first package approved earlier this year was for about $43 million and was directed at NATO and other allies in the Afghanistan war. A second package for $145.4 million was directed largely at North African nations struggling to battle al-Qaida-linked terrorists.

Initially, military leaders have planned to spend at least $150 million of the fund on aid to Yemen. So far, none of the assistance has gone there, as the embattled government struggles with internal uprisings and an increasingly threatening al-Qaida affiliate.