By Hamdi Yildiz

BAGHDAD

Iraq has received 36 Russian-made T-90 battle tanks as part of a deal, Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Gen. Othman al-Ghanimi said Monday.

The delivery comes as part of a purchase agreement signed last year between Iraq and Russia for a total of 73 T-90s.

The rest of the tanks will be delivered in April, forming a fully armored unit, al-Ghanimi added.

Dozens of Iraqi military vehicles, including several combat tanks, were destroyed during the country’s three-year battle against Daesh, which overran much of northern and western Iraq in mid-2014.

The Iraqi military’s sizeable arsenal includes both Russian- and U.S.-made tanks and armored personnel carriers along with U.S., Soviet-era and Korean jet fighters.