Local Editor

The top US military officer landed in Iraq Tuesday to get an update on the battle against "ISIL" militants, saying he sees no prospect right now for Russia to expand its airstrike campaign into Iraq.

"Being in the job about two weeks, one of the things I want to do is go over here, get eyes on, on the ground," Dunford said as his C-17 headed into Irbil.
Dunford's flight into Iraq was suddenly delayed when Iraqis on the ground in Irbil refused to allow his C-17 aircraft to land because it's a cargo plane.

Just before 9:30 a.m., local time, as Dunford's plane approached Irbil, the crew was directed to fly instead to Baghdad.

The change set off a flurry of activity on the plane, as military staff quickly yanked phones and cords out of containers to make urgent phone calls to officials on the ground, as the C-17 flew toward Baghdad. After about a half-hour, the aircraft got permission to land in Irbil.

It was unclear what triggered the mix-up, but officials said the plane's flight had been pre-approved by Iraqi leaders.

This also is Dunford's first overseas trip since he took the chairman's job on Oct. 1, signaling the high priority he and the Pentagon leadership place on finding the right formula to use local forces backed by coalition airstrikes to defeat "ISIL" and retake territory the militants control in Iraq and Syria.

He is scheduled to meet later Tuesday with the head of Iraq's Kurdish regional government, President Massoud Barzani and other government leaders. Iraqi officials have broad concerns about any effort to provide equipment or weapons directly to the Kurds.

Dunford is also likely to talk to Iraqis about the situation in Beiji.

The US has been training and equipping the Kurdish forces, through the auspices of the Iraqi government. And the Kurds have proven to be better able to combat ISIS than the Iraqi Army.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team