Amid militant attacks, Iraq eyes Czech choppers

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic is in talks to possibly sell military helicopters to Iraq’s government, which is struggling with a militant uprising.

Defense Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek says Iraqi officials expressed interest in buying up to 40 Russian-made Mi-24 helicopters when negotiating a different contract to buy 12 Czech-made L-159 light combat planes.

Pejsek says the defense ministry has seven such helicopters it does not need and could be sold to Iraq.

But any deal would take time because the helicopters would have to be modernized first and Iraqi pilots would need to undergo training.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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