Iraq Moves to Exclude Great Satan US from Anti-ISIL Campaign

“What the international coalition has done to fight the ISIL over the past year has been much smaller than what the (Iraqi) volunteer forces have achieved in the same period,” Al-Ansari told FNA on Wednesday.

He reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces have achieved great victories in all fronts while they have had none of the the equipment and satellites that the so-called coalition has for surveilling and controlling the ISIL in all regions.

“Yet, the US-led coalition has done nothing important since its formation and none of its attacks has been desirable and effective; even in some cases it has targeted the (Iraqi) volunteer forces,” Al-Ansari said.

He, meantime, appreciated the role played by the quadrilateral coalition comprising Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq against the ISIL, and said, “The Iraqis welcomes Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s request from Russia for direct intervention in the anti-ISIL fight and our country does not need the American troops.”

Earlier today, a member of the State of Law Coalition revealed that Iraq’s parliament is planning to vote whether or not the country should request the support of the Russian Air Force in fighting the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group by the end of this month.

Iraq’s parliament is planning to vote to request support from Russia in fighting the ISIL by the end of the month, a member of the State of Law Coalition told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The State of Law Coalition is Iraq’s largest political party, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and is part of the ruling coalition. The legislator also told Sputnik that the vote is expected to pass with majority support. The US has been increasingly concerned about Russian influence in Iraq, and has sent envoys to the country to dissuade further cooperation.

Legislator Mowaffak Rubaie said the bill will definitely receive a positive vote as the parliament’s ruling majority already supports its approval.

Rubaie is also a former national security adviser in Nouri al-Maliki’s government. Iraq has spent over $20 billion on US military training since the 2003 US invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein. The new army has been unable to counter ISIL and has a dire lack of heavy equipment, such as artillery and helicopters.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, al-Rubaie underlined the necessity for replacing Washington with Moscow for joint war on terrorist groups.

“The parliament fractions are calling on the Iraqi government to request Russian airstrikes and use it to attack the ISIL military bases and oil centers,” Rubaie told FNA.

“The US air force doesn’t cooperate with Iraq’s federal government and security and armed forces and refrains from providing any intelligence on ISIL’s concentration and field camps,” he added.

Rubaie complained that in every 10 flight missions conducted by the US-led coalition planes, ISIL positions come under attack in only two missions, while nothing special happens in the remaining 8 missions.

In relevant remarks on Monday, Iraqi security expert Hesham al-Hashemi said the Baghdad government would ask for Russia’s direct military assistance in the fight against the ISIL in the coming days, adding that further military advances by Iraq’s joint forces would be a great achievement for the quadrilateral coalition.

“If the Iraqi security forces achieve considerable advances in their fight against the ISIL in the Northern parts of Salahudin province, Iraq will surely ask for Russia’s military aid to help them in the fight against the ISIL,” Al-Hashemi told FNA.

The Iraqi security expert reiterated that the Iraqi air force desperately needed the Russian air force’s help in the fight against the ISIL.

He pointed to a security agreement signed between Iraq and the US, and said, “The Baghdad-Washington agreement will not prevent Iraq from asking for further military aid in the ongoing fight against terrorism from any third country.”

On Saturday, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told reporters after the 6th Xiangshan Security Forum in Beijing that Moscow had not received a request for military assistance in fight against the outlawed ISIL terrorist group, and it is ready to consider it.

“What I can say now is that as of today we do not have a request from Iraq like the one we have from (Syria’s President) Bashar Assad,” he said.

“In case we receive a request, we shall consider it accordingly.”

“As there are very many insinuations about Syria, I would like to stress we have a written request from Bashar Assad for a military and military-technical assistance in fighting IS(IL),” he said.

“We stress we are acting on a legal base and in compliance with the international law.”

Iraq has recently purchased TOS-1 multiple rocket launcher systems and Mi-28 helicopter gunships from Russia to strengthen its army in the fight against the notorious terrorist group. At the same time, US airstrikes in the country have failed to help the Iraqi government mount an offensive against ISIL.