Prime Minister , Nuri al-Maliki met South Korea's Minister of Military Industries , Lee Yong- Gul in signing a contract ceremony in Baghdad.

Maliki said in a statement reported for “Shafaq News," that " Today we signed a contract to buy 24 Korean aircrafts type (T-50IQ) for the purposes of training and medium military actions."

He added that the negotiations ended with selecting the Iraqi air force after a thorough study of this type of aircrafts for compatibility with the requirements of the work , as this dead is a beginning to raise the performance of the defense and interior ministries in defending the country and fight terrorism .

For his part, Korean Minister said that his country will make efforts in order to deliver these advanced aircrafts , which will protect the skies and the land of Iraq , on schedule .

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi government is seeking to arm the Iraqi army, with all its types , which has contracted with a number of global manufacturers of developed weapons including the United States of America for the purpose of equipping the army with armored vehicles , developed tanks , helicopters and warships , including F16 announced by the Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces , Nuri al-Maliki in 13 of last May , that Iraq will receive the first group of them in 2014 .