Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbassi attended the signing ceremony for the deal in Baghdad alongside the French ambassador to Iraq, Patrick Durel, and a representative of Airbus Helicopters, an AFP journalist reported.

Arnaud Montalvo, head of Airbus Helicopters for the Middle East, said the agreement was for 12 H225M helicopters to be delivered starting in early 2025. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The French embassy in Baghdad told AFP the deal was for 14 helicopters in total, including the 12 H225Ms.

Durel said the agreement stemmed from "exchanges and discussions" between French President Emmanuel Macron and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

"We can only be pleased that today we have achieved this result, which will allow Iraq to strengthen its capacities and which will allow Iraq to strengthen its sovereignty," he added.

The H225M, known as the "Caracal" in French military service, is the latest evolution of the Puma helicopter family and can be used for search and rescue operations, transport, assault missions and special forces insertion.

Baghdad and Paris have been working to strengthen bilateral defence ties.

"Our forces have fought together against terrorism, against IS," Durel said, referring to the Islamic State group.

"You can count on France to contribute to strengthening the country's sovereignty and security and I am sure that you can count on both our armed forces, on our various industrialists... to strengthen this relationship in all areas", Durel added.

France has deployed troops in Iraq as part of the US-led international coalition set up to fight IS and last year announced plans to train Iraqi units.

Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017, but jihadist cells remain active, carrying out sporadic attacks, particularly in rural areas.

Baghdad is now seeking to end the coalition's mission and replace it with bilateral military partnerships with other countries, saying its forces can lead the fight against the weakened IS group.

In a January 2023 trip to Paris, Sudani held talks with representatives of various French defence manufacturers as well as Airbus on the potential acquisition of helicopters, radars and the Dassault Rafale fighter jet.

Montalvo told AFP that Airbus was aiming to deliver the helicopters "as quickly as possible because there is a pressing operation need".

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Airbus Group

Puma