The gunships will be used against ISIL militants who have overrun large parts of the country, the defense ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement did not specify how many of the heavily armored two-seat gunships it has received.

But a video posted on its website showed a hangar containing multiple desert camouflage-painted Mi-28s, which are capable of all-weather and day and night operation.

Since early this year, Iraq has been facing a growing militancy by the ISIL Takfiri group and its allied militants, who have taken over areas in the country’s west and north. The crisis has deteriorated since June, when the ISIL declared a so-called caliphate in the territories they have seized.

The ISIL terrorists have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, in Iraq. They have been committing heinous crimes in the areas they have taken, including the mass execution of civilians as well as Iraqi army troops and officers.

The Iraqi army, backed by Kurdish forces and thousands of volunteers, is engaged in fierce fighting with the ISIL militants to push them out of the captured areas.

RA/SHI