Iraq Receives Batch of Russian Jets to Fight Militants

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The U.S. readied to sell Iraq thousands of missiles and a second batch of Russian Sukhoi combat jets arrived in Baghdad as foreign powers moved to help Iraqi forces battle an al-Qaeda offshoot.

Steps to beef up the government’s arsenal came as politicians deadlocked over who will lead Iraq as it risks hurtling into renewed civil war. Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is under pressure from domestic opponents to step aside to allow the formation of a broad-based government that would give a greater say to the Sunni minority in an effort to undercut the Sunni insurgency.

Media reported dozens killed and injured in fighting across the country since yesterday.

The risk of sectarian civil war in Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, flared last month after the Sunni al-Qaeda breakaway, now known as the Islamic State, seized Mosul, the country’s biggest northern city, and advanced on other towns. The U.S. State Department has told lawmakers informally that the Obama administration wants to sell Iraq more than 4,000 additional Hellfire missiles to support its fight against the Islamist insurgents, according to people familiar with the plan.

Sale of the laser-guided missiles made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) would be in addition to 500 previously purchased.

Sidelined Minority
Islamic State, which has attracted support from Sunnis alienated by the government’s pro-Shiite policies, is also fighting the government in Syria. It recently declared an Islamic caliphate in areas in both countries under its control, an assertion of authority meant to consolidate its power and blur borders.

Russia began sending used fighter jets and military advisers to Iraq over the weekend in response to an appeal from the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Today’s arrivals bring the number of planes shipped to 10.

The jets will be flown by Iraqi pilots and “are ready to provide air support to the armed forces,” theDefense Ministry said in a statement.

“The lack of a serious aerial threat has allowed Sunni militants to use lightning raids in quickly assembled convoys of pickup trucks equipped with medium- or heavy-weapons systems,” Texas-based consulting firm Stratfor said in a report e-mailed last night.

Iraq can use the Russian jets to “interdict massed Islamic State and Sunni rebel convoys,” it added.

Dozens Killed
At least 18 people were killed and 18 others injured today when military helicopters attacked an insurgent-held area north of Tikrit, al-Mada Press said, citing an unidentified health official. Eight of the dead belong to the same family, it added.

Separately, at least 25 people were killed in the south after Iraqi forces blocked supporters of Shiite cleric Sayed al-Sarkhi al-Hassani from marching on a shrine in Karbala, Al Jazeera reported yesterday, citing unidentified people.

Al-Hassani criticized a religious edict by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, to take up arms against the Sunni insurgents, saying it would lead to more bloodshed, according to a posting on his website.

Ahmed Dinar, a spokesman for Diwaniya province, said by phone today that there was no violence in the region. He said security forces closed al-Hassani’s office in Diwaniya because of the clashes in Karbala.

Political Impasse
Iraq’s Shiite-led government said it turned to Russia to bolster its aerial capabilities because U.S. F-16 jets were taking too long to be delivered. U.S. President Barack Obama has also refrained from ordering air strikes against the Sunni militants, putting the onus on Iraqi leaders to first form an inclusive government that could work to end the marginalization of minority Sunnis.

Pressure from the U.S. and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric wasn’t enough to prod lawmakers yesterday to end an impasse over picking a prime minister and fill key posts. An hour after convening inBaghdad for the first time since April elections, parliament adjourned until July 8, citing a lack of quorum and disagreements among leading political blocs.

Marie Harf, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, said while it was important parliament convened, “we do hope that Iraq’s leaders will move forward with the extreme urgency that the current situation deserves.”

“Time is not on Iraq’s side here,” she added, according to an e-mail of her daily briefing. “They need to do this as quickly as possible.”

 

[Saifullah Sani]

Iraq receives additional Su-25 jets, purportedly from Iran

The Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) has reportedly received from Iran a number of Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' ground-attack aircraft to augment those already supplied by Russia.

A video and statement posted on the Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MoD) website on 1 July announced that a second batch of five jets had arrived "over the skies of Baghdad" to join the five aircraft that came from Russia aboard an Antonov An-124 'Condor' cargo aircraft on 29 June.

While the MoD statement makes no mention of the origin of these aircraft, regional media sources claim that up to seven Su-25K/UBK aircraft were flown to Imam Ali Air Base (also known as Talil Air Base) from Iran. The MoD video footage appears to give credence to this, as the aircraft are painted in an Iranian camouflage scheme (minus national markings) and their pilots have a regional appearance.

According to the media reports, these 10 or 12 Russian and Iranian-supplied Su-25s will be operated out of Imam Ali Air Base in the south of the country near Nasiriyah, from where they will be deployed north to support Iraqi ground forces fighting Islamic State (formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/ISIL) militants.

With the Su-25 out of Iraqi service since at least the US-led invasion in 2003, it is unclear who will crew and maintain these aircraft. Given the urgent nature of their deployment, they are likely to be piloted and supported by both Russian and Iranian personnel.

While the Iraqi Army fields a rather potent ground attack capability in the form of four Mil Mi-35 'Hind' (with deliveries of another 24 ongoing), 24 Airbus Helicopters EC635, and 24 armed Bell 407 JetRanger helicopters, these are limited in range, endurance, and (with the exception of the Mi-35s) firepower.

The IqAF is far more limited in the fixed-wing ground attack assets it can call upon. With the 24 Beechcraft AT-6 Texan II turboprops and 24 Korean Aerospace Industries FA-50 light attack jets it recently ordered not yet delivered, it has just 11 AGM-114 Hellfire-armed Cessna 208B Grand Caravan turboprops to employ in a strike role (notwithstanding the recently arrived Su-25s).

Before the security situation with the Islamic State deteriorated, Iraq had just begun receiving the first of 36 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons from the United States. These are being procured primarily as air defence fighters, and so would be of limited use in the current crisis.

Even so, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has publicly bemoaned that these aircraft are not already operational with the IqAF, saying they could have prevented the Islamic State's gains.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Pentagon has had to evacuate its contractors from Iraq, so delivery of these F-16s might be delayed. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin had yet to respond to a request for comment at the time of writing.

Iraq receives additional Su-25 jets, purportedly from Iran - IHS Jane's 360