TEHRAN
The U.S. delivered arms and aid supply to militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL in eastern Iraq, General Massoud Jazayeri, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier claimed on Saturday, according to a report by the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
Describing the U.S.’s fight against ISIL as a “lie,” Jazayeri said, “The U.S. and the coalition airdropped weapons, ammunition, food and medical equipment to ISIL militants -- which have been besieged by the Iraqi army -- in Jalawla town of Diyala [in eastern Iraq] a few days ago.”
Jazayeri claimed that the U.S. has supported ISIL since the beginning of the insurgency.
Since mid-June, fighting in Iraq has pitted the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga forces against ISIL militants, who have taken control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. ISIL is currently in control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. is leading an international coalition, which includes France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, and has carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
According to the U.N., an estimated 1.8 million citizens have been internally displaced this year throughout Iraq.
www.aa.com.tr/en
