War Against IS: Russian warplanes delivered to Iraq — ministry

The new Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes will give additional advantage to the Iraqi army in the fight against terrorist groups

A new batch of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25 strike fighters has been delivered to Iraq, spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry Nasir Nouri Mohammed al-Tamimi said on Monday.


According to him, "a batch of Su-25 (three aircraft) has arrived in Iraq in accordance with the contract signed with the Russian side." 

The Iraqi defense spokesman also said that the attack aircraft would enter service in the near future. 

According to him, this will give additional advantage to the Iraqi army in the fight against terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (terrorist group banned in Russia).

Peshmerga - Kurdish forces claim to be in full control of Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk (Reuters)

(Reuters) -

Kurdish forces are in full control of Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk after the federal army abandoned its bases there, a Kurdish military spokesman said on Thursday.

Kirkuk lies at the heart of a long-running dispute between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurds, who run their own autonomous region in the north of the country and have an armed force called the Peshmerga.

"The whole of Kirkuk has fallen into the hands of peshmerga," said Jabbar Yawar, referring to the Kurdish forces. "No Iraqi army remains in Kirkuk now".