Iraq OKs Russia to bomb ISIS

ISIL militants aren’t going to find a safe haven from Russian airstrikes in Iraq after the country’s parliament gave Russia the green light to conduct airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq.

The approval comes amid security coordination between the governments of Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria — all of which seek to destroy ISIL. The four nations launched the Baghdad Information Center to coordinate their military actions against the terrorists both in Syria and Iraq.

On September 30, Russia launched precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria bordering Iraq following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said earlier that Baghdad had not requested similar assistance.The Russian military operation has been widely praised by Iraqi Shiites. For instance, the members of the Shi’ite Badr Organization have claimed they would “strongly welcome” both air attacks conducted by Russians in Iraq and an increasing role of Russia in the entire Middle East region, as the US’ approach to fight with ISIL militants is “not serious.”

Immediately following Russia’s airstrike campaign in Syria, Russian and Iraqi officials left open the possibility of expanding Russia’s anti-terrorist airstrikes from Syria into Iraq. Earlier this month, Iraq Prime Minister Haider Abadi said he would welcome Russian airstrikes against ISIL positions in his country if the Russian military succeeded in Syria.