US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Iraq on Friday where he is expected to meet top officials. "The Secretary will underscore our strong support for the Iraqi government as it addresses significant security, economic and political challenges," said the US State Department spokesman John Kirby in a statement. Kerry will meet Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani Kirby said. His visit comes after a short visit to the island kingdom of Bahrain on Thursday where he said Baghdad needs to "unify and rebuild its country to reclaim territory that is occupied by Daesh [ISIS]." Iraq's neighbours, Kerry added, "need to support the Abadi government in its efforts to stabilize and eventually rebuild the country." While the Iraqi armed forces have made advances against ISIS in the town of Hit in Anbar province their offensive on Makhmour has stalled. In Baghdad the government cabinet is being reshuffled as part of an anti-corruption reform drive on the part of Abadi which has been sped up by pressure exerted by Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who recently staged a sit-in inside the Green Zone to demand an end to government corruption. Kerry hopes that through his visit, in the words of one US official, he will be able to "encourage the Iraqis, while they're dealing with the cabinet reshuffle, not to lose sight of the need to stay focused on the fight against," ISIS emphasizing the need "to plan steadily and carefully" when it comes to liberating Mosul.
World20-06-2026Australia says Papua New Guinea responsible for treatment of critically ill Kurdish refugee
