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Iran Sent Missiles to Iraq to Help Liberate Tikrit From ISIL - Reports

© AP Photo / Iranian Defense Ministry,Vahid Reza Alaei, FileFateh-110
Fateh-110 - Sputnik International
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Iran sent lethal aid, including rockets and missiles, to help Iraq combat Islamic State militants in conflict-torn Tikrit, The New York Times reported citing US military officials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iran has sent Fajr-5 artillery rockets as well as Fateh-110 missiles and necessary launchers, according to a Monday report in the newspaper. Shiite militias trained and equipped by Iran are embedded with Iraqi troops, US officials said.

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The new weapons are not precision guided, officials said, which could cause civilian casualties.

"My concern, as with artillery and other non-precise weapons, is collateral damage if they employ them," one of the officials said.

According to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, Tehran and Baghdad have been cooperating in Tikrit in recent days to drive out Islamic State jihadists from the besieged city.

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The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said Wednesday that there was "no doubt" the joint Iran-Iraq forces would recapture the ISIL-occupied town.

Tikrit was seized by the Islamic State in summer 2014 and has been a hotspot for fighting between the Iraqi forces and ISIL jihadists. The town, 90 miles from Baghdad, has seen several attempts by Iraqi forces to liberate the city.

The Tikrit operation is a part of a larger offensive intending to recapture the Iraqi northern city of Mosul, the main ISIL hub in the country.

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