Iraq is buying unmanned drones from the United States to help protect its southern oil platforms, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Monday.
An official from the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, which is part of the U.S. embassy, declined to give the model or number of drones that are part of the contract, but Iraqi security officials confirmed plans to use drones to protect oil infrastructure.
“According to the energy police plans, we intend to use the drones by the end of this year,” head of the energy protection force, Major General Hamid Ibrahim, told Reuters. “We are in the process of training engineers.”