Iran ready to aid Iraqi army in fight against terrorism

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Iran is ready to provide military aid to the Iraqi army to help it in the fight against al-Qaida affiliated groups if the Arab country asks for Tehran's help, the deputy chairman of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying by Tehran Times daily on Monday.

"We have not received any official request yet, but if they make a request, we will certainly provide them with equipment and consultations," Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi said.

The Iraqi army has enough troops to deal with the terrorists and there is no need for sending Iranian troops, the commander said. Iran will not conduct any joint operation with the United States against al-Qaida in Iraq, he emphasized.

The United States on Sunday voiced support for Iraq's ongoing efforts to combat an al-Qaida affiliate which has taken control of a big city in the western province of Anbar.

In a conversation with Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al- Fayyad over the phone, Anthony Blinken, a deputy American national security adviser to President Barack Obama, expressed U.S. support for government operations in Anbar to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), commonly known as al-Qaida in Iraq.

ISIL fighters seized both Fallujah and Ramadi, the provincial capital, Wednesday, the first since the American troops withdrew in late 2011. The Iraqi security forces have retaken Ramadi.