ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday received Major General Kevin Leahy, commander of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, for talks on security cooperation and the threat posed by the remnants of the extremist group, according to a statement from the Iraqi government.
The statement from Sudani’s office said that during the meeting, the prime minister was briefed “on the overall security situation and the latest movements of ISIS terrorist groups.”
They discussed “strengthening cooperation between Iraq and the coalition member states in light of the ongoing transition toward bilateral security partnerships,” with a focus on “training, intelligence sharing, and exchanging expertise with Iraqi security forces,” the statement added.
The two sides also “reaffirmed the importance of the strategic relationship between Iraq and the United States amid ongoing regional challenges.”
The meeting comes as Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein traveled to the United States on Thursday to explore deeper bilateral ties and address regional and international developments, as Baghdad seeks new security partnerships with member states of the global coalition.
The global coalition was established in response to ISIS's rapid territorial expansion in Iraq and Syria in 2014, following a formal request from the Iraqi government for international assistance.
In September 2024, Baghdad and Washington jointly announced an agreement to end the mission of the coalition in Iraq by September 2025.
Sudani last week stressed that the situation in Iraq is now vastly different from 2014.
“Iraq in 2023 and 2024 is not the same as it was in 2014, when it requested assistance,” he said, emphasizing Baghdad’s push for bilateral security arrangements with coalition members.
