Three C-130s of Iraq’s 23rd Air Transport Squadron flew two battalions of Iraqi security troops from Irbil to Tall Afar in Iraq over a two-day period last week, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, with the Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters Thursday. The flights marked the first use of the new Iraqi air force to directly support the deployment of Iraqi combat forces inside of Iraq. Iraq’s new air arm begins life with a great advantage over its predecessor—the US Air Force is now a friend, rather than an adversary.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.