MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted US airlines from flying below 30,000 feet over Iraq amid dangers posed by continuing fighting in the country.
Earlier, the agency restricted flights in Iraqi air space to a 20,000-foot minimum. The FAA also prohibited US airlines from using the Sulaymaniyah and Erbil airports in Iraq, according to the Associated Press.
This week, a number of carriers, including Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Emirates and Air France announced that they have rerouted flights over Iraqi airspace.
The US order was issued on Thursday, two weeks after a Malaysia Airlines Boeing was downed near the city of Donetsk in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Ukrainian authorities placed the blame on independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine, while the latter say they do not possess weapons capable of hitting a target flying so high. At the moment, a team of international investigators is working on determining the cause of the catastrophe.
The crisis in Iraq has intensified as heavy fighting between government forces and Islamic State (IS) militants continues.
Islamic State Sunni militants were previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). On June 29, after weeks of fighting in Iraq and Syria and the seizure of vast territories in the two countries, the militant group proclaimed itself a “caliphate” and changed its name to the Islamic State (IS).
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has claimed global religious authority over all Muslims.
The organization was involved in the civil war in Syria, fighting against the government of President Bashar Assad. While in June the Islamic State started a large-scale offensive against Iraq’s Shiite government led by Nouri Maliki, aiming to seize Baghdad.
The jihadist group has been added to terrorist organization lists by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Nations. The Islamic State has been accused of multiple killings, kidnappings and torturing.
Aviation authorities are concerned that Islamic State militants, who have extensive weapons supplies, may possess anti-aircraft missiles, making flights over the region potentially dangerous.
