Russian warplanes to join Iraq Fight
Print Edition
IRAQ received the first batch of Sukhoi warplanes from Russia yesterday as it pressed a counter-attack against a Sunni militant onslaught that threatens to tear the country apart.
Witnesses yesterday reported waves of government airstrikes on the city of Tikrit, overrun by the insurgents when they swept across vast areas of north and west Iraq earlier this month.
World leaders, alarmed by the pace of the reverses in Iraq, have meanwhile urged a speeding up of government formation following April’s general election, warning that the conflict, driven by sectarian divides, cannot be resolved militarily.
The Su-25 aircraft are expected to be pressed into service as soon as possible, bolstering Iraq’s air power as it combats the insurgency that has killed more than 1,000 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands displaced.
An Iraqi official said pilots from executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s airforce would fly the planes.
Su-25s are designed for ground attack, meaning they will be useful for Iraqi forces trying to root out militants, led by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, from a string of towns and cities they have seized.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last Thursday announced that Baghdad was buying more than a dozen Sukhoi aircraft from Russia in a deal that could be worth up to US$500 million.
While Washington has begun sending military advisers to help Iraqi commanders and is flying armed drones over Baghdad, Iraqi officials have voiced frustration that multi-billion dollar deals for US-made F-16s and Apache helicopters have not been expedited.
Iraqi forces have for days been pressing a campaign to retake Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, which fell to militants on June 11.
Yesterday, Iraqi aircraft carried out strikes in various areas in central Tikrit, and Saddam’s palace compound in the city, a clear sign militants are still holed up in the city.
Thousands of soldiers, backed by tanks and bomb disposal units, have been engaged in the major operation aimed at retaking the city.
According to Maliki’s security spokesman, Iraqi forces are coordinating with US advisers in “studying important targets.”
Also yesterday, fighters backed by the Kurdish Peshmerga force were advancing on the Shiite-majority village of Basheer, south of Kirkuk that was taken over by militants during the offensive.
Maliki’s security spokesman has said hundreds of soldiers have been killed since the insurgent offensive was launched on June 9, while the UN puts the overall death toll at over 1,000, mostly civilians.
The US has pushed for political reconciliation and while it has stopped short of calling for the premier to go, it has left little doubt it feels he has squandered the opportunity to rebuild Iraq since American troops withdrew in late 2011.
US officials have also said a proposed US$500 million plan to arm and train moderate rebels in neighboring Syria could also help Iraq fight ISIS, which operates in both countries.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow “will not remain passive to the attempts by some groups to spread terrorism in the region.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
