US Defense Secretary makes surprise visits to Iraq as ISIS war rages on
Erbil, Kurdistan Region — The United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited with the President of Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani on Friday.
Carter’s unannounced visit to Erbil comes a day after the defense secretary’s surprise meeting in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Adabi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi.
The visits, which mark Carter’s first time in Iraq since taking office, are believed to be centered on strategies for defeating the Islamic State.
The officials met only briefly behind closed doors.
Carter’s visit to Baghdad follows closely on the heels of a marketplace bombing in the city that killed more than 100 local citizens. ISIS still has control of several key cities in Iraq, including Mosul, only 90 km from Erbil.
On Thursday, a deal was announced between the US and Turkey that allows the US to use Turkish airbases to launch airstrikes against ISIS. The news comes shortly after a suicide bombing in Suruc, a Syrian town near the border, resulted in 32 deaths and scores of injuries.
Carter’s unannounced visit to Erbil comes a day after the defense secretary’s surprise meeting in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Adabi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi.
The visits, which mark Carter’s first time in Iraq since taking office, are believed to be centered on strategies for defeating the Islamic State.
The officials met only briefly behind closed doors.
Carter’s visit to Baghdad follows closely on the heels of a marketplace bombing in the city that killed more than 100 local citizens. ISIS still has control of several key cities in Iraq, including Mosul, only 90 km from Erbil.
On Thursday, a deal was announced between the US and Turkey that allows the US to use Turkish airbases to launch airstrikes against ISIS. The news comes shortly after a suicide bombing in Suruc, a Syrian town near the border, resulted in 32 deaths and scores of injuries.