Special to WorldTribune.com

Baghdad has not formally requested Russian air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) targets in Iraqi territory but would welcome any such assistance, according to a report.

A senior Iraqi diplomat told Air Force Times on Oct. 5 that Iraqi officials believe that the U.S.-led coalition has failed to make sufficient progress in Iraq and has focused too much attention in Syria. The diplomat said that U.S.-led forces reacted too slowly and missed a number of opportunities to drive ISIL out of several areas inside Iraq.

The diplomat said Iraq would welcome air strikes but would not want Russian ground troops to fight ISIL in Iraq. He also said that Baghdad would coordinate with the U.S. on how to include Russia in any operations.

The diplomat told the Air Force Times that Iraq also requires an influx of U.S. M1A1 Abrams tanks for an offensive to reclaim Anbar province from ISIL. The U.S. Congress has approved the sale of 175 of the tanks to Iraq.

Prior to ISIL’s offensive in which it seized Mosul, Iraqi forces had 140 Abrams tanks but a number of them were either destroyed, heavily damaged or left behind on the battlefied.

Meanwhile, Russian jets on Oct. 6 struck ISIL targets in the Syrian city of Palmyra and the northern province of Aleppo.

Moscow said the strikes destroyed 20 ISIL vehicles and three weapons depots in Palmyra, but the attack came too late to save some of the city’s most treasured ancient monuments.

Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said that ISIL terrorists blew up the 2,000-year-old city’s Arch of Triumph on Oct. 4.

Russian air strikes also hit targets in the Aleppo province towns of Al-Bab and Deir Hafer as well as in Jabal al-Zaqiya in Idlib province.

  Abrams tanks, Report: Iraq would welcome Russian air strikes on ISIL targets, Russian air strikes, U.S.-led coalition, WorldTribune.com