Iraq has issued a public plea for America to bomb the Isis "terrorists" rampaging through the country's northern region, a move that will pile pressure on Washington to take military action.
Speaking after another day of fierce clashes across the country, Hoshyar Zebari, the country's foreign minister, confirmed that Baghdad was formally seeking to rope in US air power in its fight to oust the Isis fighters from Iraq. Until now the Iraqi government had kept details of any such requests private.
"Iraq has officially asked Washington to help under the security agreement [between the two countries], and to conduct air strikes against terrorist groups," Mr Zebari said during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
The request came as Washington appears to have cooled to the idea of using air power. Officials have said that while the Pentagon is willing to send special forces to help with intelligence gathering, air strikes would be of limited use against an enemy that is widely spread out and operating among civilian populations.
America's most respected military strategist also queried the use of air power on Wednesday, saying it could lead the US to be seen to siding with Iraq's Shia-dominated government.
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