BAGHDAD: Iran has sent about 500 Revolutionary Guard troops to Iraqi eastern province of Diyala in recent days to help the government security forces in fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a senior security official in Baghdad told US media.
Earlier in the day, the Al Qaeda-inspired militant group seized two new towns of Diyala province including Saadiyah and Jalawla, widening their control after threatening to move on the capital Baghdad.
Jalawla is 125 kilometers (80 miles) northeast of Baghdad, whereas Saadiyah is 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.
The ISIS militants, who have already captured two provincial capitals, namely Tikrit in Salahuddin province and the Iraqi second largest city of Mosul in the northern province of Nineveh, are heading south toward Baghdad.
