Maliki instructs Air Force to support Kurdish Peshmerga forces

[bemildred]

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Premier, Nouri al-Maliki, instructed the Air Force to support the Peshmerga forces fighting the ISIL terrorists.

The spokesperson of the General Commander of the Armed Force, Qasim Atta, stated in a press statement “Maliki instructed the Air Force to support the Peshmerga forces while fighting the ISIL terrorists.”

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/maliki-instructs-air-force-to-support-kurdish-peshmerga-forces/

[bemildred]

1. Maliki orders Iraq air force to back Kurdish fighters against jihadis

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered his air force for the first time to back Kurdish forces against Islamic State fighters after the militants made another dramatic push through the north, state television reported on Monday.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters, who cut their teeth fighting Saddam Hussein's troops, were regarded as one of the few forces capable of standing up to the insurgents who faced almost no opposition from Maliki's US-trained army during their lightning advance through the north in June.

Then on Sunday the Islamic State inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Kurds with a rapid advance through three towns to reach the Mosul Dam, acquiring a fifth oil field to fund its operations along the way.

State television and witnesses said that the Islamic State had seized Iraq's biggest dam. Kurdish peshmerga officials said they have pushed militants from the dam area and were in control of it. This could not be immediately confirmed.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/maliki-orders-iraq-air-force-back-kurdish-fighters-against-jihadis

[mwrguy]

2. A little late

They needed that last week.

[bemildred]

3. Maliki is very good at catching on too late. nt

[jakeXT]

4. Here comes the US ?

US to Give Kurdish Forces Air Support

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Rudaw has learned from a high-level American official that the United States has offered the Kurds air support in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The official source who didn’t want to be named said that the US would also provide the Kurdish Peshmerga with arms and military expertise.

The American offer is said to include humanitarian aid to be transported by air to the people of Shangal and Zumar who have been displaced as a result of fighting in their areas.

This newspaper has also learned that a number of European countries have contacted the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with offers of military support.

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/040820146

The Kurds getting closer to the government in Baghdad... no way

[bemildred]

5. Good.

The government in Baghdad can go fuck itself.