Iraq still needs coalition air support against ISIS: military spokesperson

Iraq also needs continued coalition airstrikes against ISIS remnants on the border with Syria, he added.

Following the agreed conclusion of the US-led coalition’s combat mission in Iraq in December, the country still needs supporting coalition airstrikes to combat ISIS, Iraqi military spokesperson Yehia Rasool said on Friday.

The Iraqi military needs support “especially in the air force, air defense, army aviation and intelligence system fields,” Rasool told the Arabic-language publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Iraq also needs continued coalition airstrikes against ISIS remnants on the border with Syria, he added.

The Arabic publication also quoted the commander of the Iraqi ground forces Lieutenant-General Qassem Muhammad al-Muhammadi, who said that ISIS remnants pose the most serious threat in Diyala province.

He also said that most airstrikes against ISIS are carried out by Iraqi Air Force F-16 jets. However, he pointed out that the coalition monitors ISIS activity on the international border.

The Iraqi Air Force regularly targets ISIS remnants with its F-16s along with its Su-25 and L-159 attack planes. The coalition frequently highlights such strikes to showcase the Iraqi Air Force’s capabilities.

“Tremendous progress achieved by Iraqi airpower & ground forces has crippled Daesh (ISIS) ability to resurge,” tweeted the official account of the coalition on Dec. 27 after Iraqi F-16s and L-159s targeted suspected ISIS caves and hideouts in the Hamrin Mountain in Diyala province.

Iraqi F-16s, the most advanced fighters in the country’s arsenal, have reportedly faced chronic maintenance problems over the past two years since Lockheed Martin contractors had to leave Balad Airbase due to rocket fire from Iran-backed militias. Iraq has 34 F-16s.

Every year on January 6, Iraq marks Army Day. Last year’s army day coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Iraqi Army’s establishment in 2021. During a parade, a total of 23 Iraqi F-16s made a flyover. However, as analysts noted, that didn’t mean those jets were fully operational.

This year’s Army Day will also feature an F-16 flyover. On Sunday, Rasool tweeted that air force planes will be flying over Baghdad “at an appropriate altitude” to practice for that event.