TEHRAN - Iranian Commander Qasem Soleimani has been very helpful in providing military consultation to Iraq in the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a senior Iraqi leader said.

The United States has grown sensitive about Iranian commanders who are providing useful military consultation, President of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim told the Mehr news agency on Sunday.

While the U.S. and its coalition support the Iraqi Army and Police, the Popular Mobilization Forces (called al-Hashad al-Shaabi in Arabic) prefer the backing of Iranian commanders, he said.

Hakim noted that the Iranian commanders have gained much experience in the eight-year war with the Iraqi Army in the 1980s and are fully capable of commanding operations in current situations in Iraq.

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