IRGC Choppers Helping Iraq Contain Wildfire

Iran has dispatched two firefighting helicopters to Iraq to help extinguish a fire in Hoor al-Azim lagoon in the neighboring country, an official said Friday. Two firefighting choppers belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) aerospace unit have flown to Iraq to help contain the fire in the reed beds of Hoor al-Azim lagoon, head of the Defense Ministry’s aerial firefighting department told Tasnim News Agency. Mohammad Mahdi Nouri, a pilot, said the two choppers, equipped with tanks carrying 4,000 liters of water, have carried out operations over the blazing zones. He noted that the operation will continue on Saturday, expressing the hope that residents of Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan would soon be rid of troubles caused by the fire on the other side of the border. Many cities in Khuzestan, including capital Ahvaz, have been covered by plumes of black smoke from the inferno caused by the drying up of the major lagoon and unusually high temperatures. IRNA quoted head of the Environment Department of Khuzestan as saying that the Iraqi side of the lagoon prone to the fire covers 150,000 hectares, more than 16,000 hectares of which have been burning over the past two weeks.