The U.S. Vice President Joe Biden extended a helping hand to Iraq over its struggle to deal with the al-Qaida.
In a telephonic conversation with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Biden "expressed concern" over the rising militant attacks in Iraq.
"The Vice President expressed concern for those Iraqis who are suffering at the hands of terrorists and praised the recent security cooperation between Iraqi Security Forces and local and tribal forces in Anbar province," the White House said in a statement, Reuters reported.
"The two discussed how best to sustain and deepen recent cooperation between Sunni communities and the Iraqi government," the White House said. "Prime Minister Maliki affirmed the importance of working closely with Iraq's Sunni leaders and communities to isolate extremists."
While in another telephonic discussion with Osama al-Nujaifi, speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and al-Maliki's critic, Biden discussed the recent cooperation between Iraq's military and Sunni local, tribal forces. al-Nujaifi said that the Sunni communities would co-operate with the Shiite-led government to fight terrorism led by the al-Qaida affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), reported the Associated Press.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said, they were "working closely" with the Iraqi government and would increase the missile deliveries and surveillance drones. "We're working closely with the Iraqis to develop a holistic strategy to isolate the al Qaeda-affiliated groups, and we have seen some early successes in Ramadi," Carney said in a briefing, Reuters reported.
"This situation remains fluid, and it's too early to tell or make conclusions about it. But we're accelerating our foreign military sales deliveries," he said.
Carney further said that the U.S will provide additional shipments of Hellfire missiles to Iraq come spring. It will also provide the country with 10 ScanEagle surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the upcoming weeks and 48 Raven surveillance UAVs later this year, reported Reuters.
So far, helicopter sales and deliveries to Iraq add up to 30. In December, the U.S. sent three Bell IA-407 helicopters, Carney informed.
According to the Associated Press, Biden said the conversations with the two leaders showed a disturbing reality about the religious extremism in Iraq two years after the U.S. withdrew military forces from the country.
Last year, al-Maliki requested the U.S. to help Iraq with weapons and intelligence to fight the militants during his visit to the Oval Office. However, he had to leave without any assurances from President Barack Obama.
