The first of four German air force cargo planes to deliver the aid took off from an airbase in the northern town of Hohn on Friday morning, bound for Irbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

"Of course this is just the beginning and we're working hard on sending further aid if necessary and it's becoming apparent that is the case," German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters at the airbase.

Both the US and Britain have already air-dropped aid to civilians trapped on a mountain in northern Iraq, but the UK said it was suspending the flights after a Royal Air Force surveillance mission had confirmed an American assessment that the number of people on the mountain was smaller than previously thought.

"We are currently reviewing the need for additional airdrops, given that there appear to be adequate supplies on the mountain, but we will keep the option open if we establish there is further need," a spokesperson for British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

Islamist insurgents, who now call themselves the "Islamic State," have swept across parts of Iraq and Syria in recent weeks, driving tens of thousands of minority Yazidis and Christians from their homes.

The United Nations has declared the highest-level state of emergency due to the humanitarian crisis sparked by the advance of the IS fighters.

European Union foreign minister were to meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss the 28-member bloc's response to the crisis in northern Iraq, as well as the situation in eastern Ukraine.

The arms debate

The Iraq crisis has sparked debate within the EU about sending arms to Kurdish forces fighting the IS militants. On Thursday, French President Francois Hollande confirmed that his country would send military equipment to Kurdish fighters - without specifying the type or amount of equipment.

Some members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition government have also indicated that Germany might follow suit.

Speaking at the air base on Friday, Defense Minister von der Leyen implied that any military aid from Germany could be non-lethal.

"We are also working on the question of whether equipment is needed, such as protective helmets and vests," she said.

The chancellor, though, has not ruled out the possibility of sending weapons at some point in the future.

"When it comes to arms exports, the government always has some political and legal leeway, and if necessary we will exhaust it,"Merkel said in comments published by the Hannoverische Allgemeine newspaper.

"Here we will coordinate closely with our partners and, above all, with the United States," she added.

pfd/tj (dpa, AP, Reuters, AFP)