Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran dismissed cooperation with the US-led anti-IS (Islamic State) coalition in bombing the group's targets in Iraq.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri rejected any cooperation with the US-led coalition, adding the US has no place in Iraq's future, Iran's Fars news agency reported Dec. 2.
Jazayeri made the remarks while reacting to some western media reports saying Iranian fighters attacking the IS group in Iraq.
The Huffington Post quoted a US defense official as saying the United States is aware of Iranian bombing activity in the same national airspace where planes aligned with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State are operating.
"We are aware of that. I wouldn't say we're necessarily concerned with it -- we kind of have our eyes on it," the official said.
He noted that the Iranian bombing has been taking place near the Iranian border, in a different part of Iraq than most US and coalition activity. The US official said he could only confirm reports of the bombing on the condition of anonymity.
The 'Islamic State' (IS, formerly ISIL or ISIS,) was created in 2003 in Iraq. Following the start of military confrontation in Syria between the armed opposition and the government forces, the IS penetrated the country in 2013.
The organization said at the time it refuses to take the oath of Al-Qaeda and declared 'a holy war' against all groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian government forces.
Strengthening of the IS in Syria allowed it to return to Iraq, deploying military actions against government forces there.
In late June of 2014, the IS announced about the creation of the 'Islamic Caliphate' on the territories under its control in Iraq and Syria. In turn, Iraqi authorities asked the international community for help in fighting the IS.
Edited by CN