U.S. plans sale of 4,000 more Hellfire missiles to Iraq

The State Department has told lawmakers informally that the Obama administration wants to sell Iraq more than 4,000 additional Hellfire missiles made by Lockheed Martin for the government’s fight against Islamic insurgents, according to people familiar with the plan.

Sale of the laser-guided missiles would be in addition to 500 previously purchased, of which about 400 have been delivered.

The U.S. has pledged military aid to Iraq in its fight against the militants, an extremist Sunni group that’s seized a swath of territory north and west of Baghdad. Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S., Lukman Faily, said Tuesday in Washington that weapons have been too slow in coming and “further delay only benefits the terrorists.”

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