Iraq receives Sukhoi jets, Iran offers Baghdad help

Baghdad: Iraqi forces pressed a counter-attack on Saddam Hussein’s hometown Tikrit as Russia delivered five secondhand Sukhoi-25 warplanes to aid Baghdad.

Government planes pounded Tikrit with air strikes and clashes broke out across the city on Sunday, witnesses said, as thousands of troops advanced in the most ambitious operation Iraqi forces have carried out since insurgents led by the ISIS overran swathes of five provinces weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, a top Iranian General said Iran was ready to help Baghdad fight the revolt using the same methods it deployed against opposition forces in Syria, suggesting Tehran is offering to take a larger role in battling the ISIS.

So far, Iranian leaders had only said they would help defend Shia shrines in Iraq, but have also said Iraqis are capable of doing it.