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Iran Has 1,000 Military Advisers in Iraq
(Washington Post) Missy Ryan and Loveday Morris - Iranian military involvement has dramatically increased in Iraq over the past year as Tehran has delivered desperately needed aid to Baghdad in its fight against Islamic State militants, say U.S., Iraqi and Iranian sources. A senior Iranian cleric with close ties to Tehran's leadership said that since June, Iran has sent more than 1,000 military advisers to Iraq, as well as elite units, and has conducted airstrikes and spent more than $1 billion on military aid. At the same time, Iraq's Shiite-led government is increasingly reliant on the powerful militias and a massive Shiite volunteer force, which together may now equal the size of Iraq's security forces.