Anton Haji-Ishmawi (D) stands outside the office of the Russian Ambassador to Iraq, Michael Mezvinsky (R), in Amman, Jordan, Monday, October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

On Friday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had sent a new warplane to the conflict zone that would soon be joined by several Russian fighter aircraft and long-range bombers.

An air strike against Islamic State militants in Iraq on Saturday killed as many as 35 people, including an Iraqi air force commander, in the “most severe air operation” the Iraqi government has faced, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Moscow was ready to help the Iraqi government defend its territory from attacks from Iraqi Shi’ite militant groups backed by Iran.

Shoigu said Islamic State had been driven out of Tikrit.

At least 969 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the United Nations. More than three-quarters of them civilians, half of them men.

Iraqi forces have recaptured a number of territory that Islamic State had captured after seizing it last year. But some insurgents now control only districts around the city.

In July, the government launched sweeping air strikes to regain control of Tikrit, which it had lost 10 years ago to a U.S.-led invasion. The air campaign by the U.S-led international coalition has yet to topple Islamic State from the city.

An Iraqi man helps a relative to evacuate a wounded man from Tikrit province, Iraq October 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Shoigu said this week that it was up to Iraqi authorities to decide whether Baghdad would ask for international support in the assault on Tikrit, a move that could draw in other Middle East countries.

“The decision for the Iraqi government is not yet made. It remains under consideration,” Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.

“But the situation is that the Iraqi forces have taken full control of Tikrit, including around the airport.”

The United States and Russia have opposed the campaign, while Iran opposes it. Iraq has yet to accept foreign troops and equipment.

FIGHTING IN TIRAN

Islamic State has since June captured Tikrit, the last stronghold of the U.S.-led anti-Islamic