Al Jazeera TV reported cited al-Hayat daily of London reporting, “Informed western sources in Brussels said planes flying in Iraq in the past few days in support of Maliki’s forces were flown by Iranian pilots. These planes took to the skies from Iranian air bases near the Iraqi border and at some times went airborne from airbases in Syria. These sources underscored warplanes purchased by Iraq from Russia have yet to take part in the fighting.”