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First batch of U.S. F-16 jets delivered to Iraq
A U.S Air Force F16 jet fighter is seen during its exhibition fligh at an air show. (File: AP)
By AFP | Baghdad
Monday, 13 July 2015
Four U.S. F-16 warplanes landed in Iraq on Monday, the first batch of a much-delayed delivery aimed at boosting the ailing Iraqi military’s capacity, the defense ministry said.
“Arrival of four F-16s at Balad air base,” read a flash on the ministry’s website, in an announcement also confirmed to AFP by the prime minister’s office.
Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s deputy envoy for the international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, also confirmed the jets had arrived.
“After years of preparation & training in the U.S., Iraqi pilots today landed the 1st squadron of Iraqi F16s in [HASHTAG]#Iraq[/HASHTAG],” he said on social media.
The delivery had most recently been delayed over security concerns at Balad, which lies around 70 kilometers north of Baghdad.
ISIS fighters were still battling government forces not far from Balad earlier this year, which was deemed to make it unsafe for the U.S. contractors hired to maintain the jets.
Last Update: Monday, 13 July 2015 KSA 14:49 - GMT 11:49
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/07/13/First-batch-of-U-S-F-16-jets-delivered-to-Iraq.html

A U.S Air Force F16 jet fighter is seen during its exhibition fligh at an air show. (File: AP)
By AFP | Baghdad
Monday, 13 July 2015
Four U.S. F-16 warplanes landed in Iraq on Monday, the first batch of a much-delayed delivery aimed at boosting the ailing Iraqi military’s capacity, the defense ministry said.
“Arrival of four F-16s at Balad air base,” read a flash on the ministry’s website, in an announcement also confirmed to AFP by the prime minister’s office.
Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s deputy envoy for the international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, also confirmed the jets had arrived.
“After years of preparation & training in the U.S., Iraqi pilots today landed the 1st squadron of Iraqi F16s in [HASHTAG]#Iraq[/HASHTAG],” he said on social media.
The delivery had most recently been delayed over security concerns at Balad, which lies around 70 kilometers north of Baghdad.
ISIS fighters were still battling government forces not far from Balad earlier this year, which was deemed to make it unsafe for the U.S. contractors hired to maintain the jets.
Last Update: Monday, 13 July 2015 KSA 14:49 - GMT 11:49
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/07/13/First-batch-of-U-S-F-16-jets-delivered-to-Iraq.html