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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Iraq offers air support to Kurdish fighters | Iraq offers air support to Kurdish fighters |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has ordered the air force to provide support to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Sunni militants in the north. | Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has ordered the air force to provide support to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Sunni militants in the north. |
| It comes after the Islamic State (formerly known as Isis) seized the town of Zumar and two nearby oilfields from Peshmerga forces on Saturday. | It comes after the Islamic State (formerly known as Isis) seized the town of Zumar and two nearby oilfields from Peshmerga forces on Saturday. |
| IS also took over the town of Sinjar near the Syrian border on Sunday. | IS also took over the town of Sinjar near the Syrian border on Sunday. |
| Kurdish forces said they were planning a counter-offensive and reports on Monday said Zumar had been retaken. | Kurdish forces said they were planning a counter-offensive and reports on Monday said Zumar had been retaken. |
| Militants seized large parts of northern Iraq from government control in June. | Militants seized large parts of northern Iraq from government control in June. |
| In a statement on Monday, Iraqi army spokesman Qassem Atta said: "The commander in chief of the armed forces has issued orders to the leadership of the air force and the army's aviation units to provide air support to Peshmerga forces." | In a statement on Monday, Iraqi army spokesman Qassem Atta said: "The commander in chief of the armed forces has issued orders to the leadership of the air force and the army's aviation units to provide air support to Peshmerga forces." |
| Kurdish leaders have not yet responded to the offer. | Kurdish leaders have not yet responded to the offer. |
| Earlier, a Kurdish official told Reuters news agency that Peshmerga forces had been overstretched but were now calling in large numbers of fighters to hit back. | Earlier, a Kurdish official told Reuters news agency that Peshmerga forces had been overstretched but were now calling in large numbers of fighters to hit back. |
| "It is a very dangerous situation for the region. Something needs to be done soon," the official said. | "It is a very dangerous situation for the region. Something needs to be done soon," the official said. |
| The UN said tens of thousands of people from Iraq's minority Yazidi community had fled their homes after the Sunni militants captured Sinjar and Zumar at the weekend. | The UN said tens of thousands of people from Iraq's minority Yazidi community had fled their homes after the Sunni militants captured Sinjar and Zumar at the weekend. |
| Many of those who fled were said to be in exposed mountainous areas near the towns. | Many of those who fled were said to be in exposed mountainous areas near the towns. |
| The UN special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, told the BBC their situation was desperate. | |
| "We have the supplies in place and we can move them immediately as soon as the security situation permits us to do that," he said. | |
| "The situation is quite dramatic. We have increasing reports of people who have no access to drinking water, not to speak of food or lack of medication." | |
| The Kurdish minority in Iraq managed to establish an autonomous region in the north in 2005 after decades of political and military efforts to seek self-rule. | |
| Since then, relations between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad have often been strained, and correspondents say Mr Maliki's offer of air support could indicate a degree of rapprochement in the face of the Islamic State advance. | |
| In July, the Kurdish political bloc ended all participation in Iraq's national government in protest over claims by Mr Maliki that Kurds were sheltering militants. | |
| When jihadists from the Islamic State swept across northern Iraq in June, Kurds seized many areas abandoned by the Iraqi army. | |
| Peshmerga fighters were regarded as one of the few forces capable of standing up to the Sunni insurgents. | |
| IS describes the territory under its control in Iraq and Syria as a caliphate. |