WASHINGTON: Iran is secretly flying surveillance drones over Iraq and sending military equipment there to help Baghdad in its fight against terrorists, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
A small fleet of Ababil drones was deployed to the Al Rashid airfield near Baghdad, the newspaper said on its website, citing anonymous US officials.
Tehran has also installed an intelligence unit at the airfield to intercept electronic communications between ISIS fighters and commanders.
Ababil drones, less sophisticated than US unmanned aircraft, are designed in Iran and have a nearly 10-foot wingspan. They are used for surveillance and are unarmed.
About a dozen officers of Irans paramilitary Quds Force, have also been sent to Iraq to advise Iraqi commanders and help mobilize Shia militias in the south of the country, the paper said, adding that Irans General Qassem Suleimani recently made two trips to Iraq.
Iran is also sending two flights daily to Baghdad with 70 tons each of military equipment and supplies.
Its a substantial amount of material, a US official told the newspaper. Its not necessarily heavy weaponry, but its not just light arms and ammunition.
Tehran has massed 10 divisions of its army and its Quds Force troops along the border, ready to act if the Iraqi capital or Shia shrines are threatened, The New York Times added.
Asked at a briefing, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she cant confirm the specifics in those reports.
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