The US military is flying armed drones over Baghdad to defend American troops and diplomats in the Iraqi capital if necessary, a senior US official said Friday.
"For the last 24 to 48 hours, we've started that," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
The move comes after the United States deployed 180 troops as military advisers in recent days to help the Iraqi government army fend off the advance of Sunni militants, who have captured territory north and west of the capital.
