ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq has so far received only seven of 41 Bell helicopters that it purchased from the United States during Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s visit to the US back in April.

“This contract is of high importance for the Iraqi army’s air force, because it contains a number of various helicopters,” Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesperson to Iraq's Joint Operation Command announced.

Khafaji added that some of the helicopters will be used “during training and others for back-up ground operations purposes.”

“We use them for various operations,” he said. “We expect the rest of the helicopters will arrive in the near future.” 

In addition to several other key agreements between Baghdad and Washington, the Iraqi government struck a number of army aviation and air defense agreements worth nearly 500 million dollars with the US government. 

Following the US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, and in line with the Security Agreement between the US and Iraq and the Strategic Framework Agreement for the Operations of US Forces in Iraq signed between the two nations in 2008, American strategy in Iraq has centered on tackling various issues pertaining to Iraqi and regional security.

The US played an active role in the military defeat of ISIS and the recapture of most areas it previously controlled in northern and western Iraq by December 2017.

However, the ongoing frequency of attacks by the organization suggests that there is more work to be done in Iraq. This issue was the focal point of discussions between Sudani and US officials during his April visit to the US.