Iraq conducts 1st flight with coalition at Syria border

By Ibrahim Salih and Ali Muhammed

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraqi F-16 fighter jets conducted their first flight alongside the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh above the Iraqi-Syrian border, the Iraqi Air Force said early Saturday.

The statement said the flight was part of a defensive mission.

It added that it was aimed at increasing the capabilities of the Iraqi Air Force.

Gen. Brook Leonard, the coalition's director of air operations, was quoted in the statement as saying that the Iraqi Air Force was continuing to build up its capabilities.

He said advisors from the coalition are working with their Iraqi counterparts to coordinate operations against the Daesh terrorist organization.

The Iraqi government announced in December 2017 that its war against Daesh was over and the territories it controlled had been seized.

*Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet