Can Russian jets help Iraq fight back?

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has told the BBC that he hopes jets from Russia and Belarus will turn the tide against rebels in the coming days.

He said that the process of buying US jets had been "long-winded" and that the militants' advance could have been avoided if air cover had been in place.

Speaking from Kurdish-ruled Irbil in northern Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir said Mr Maliki was pinning his hopes on the Russian planes.