US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter arrived in Baghdad on Thursday in an unannounced visit, in which he also met the President of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq, Masoud Barzani, to discuss the fight against the terrorist group the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
According to a statement released on KRG's official website, Carter and Barzani discussed the fight against ISIS, the supply of weaponry Ppeshmerge forces need, and the taking Mosul from the hands of the ISIS, were discussed.
Carter has praised KRG's fight against ISIS and emphasized the significance of the cooperation between the U.S.-led coalition and KRG's Ppeshmerge forces during the operations againstt the ISIS terrorists.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also spoke to KRG's President Barzani regarding the recent attacks against ISIS positions in northern Syria and the PKK in Northern Iraq.
During the press conference in Ankara, the prime minister said that he had spoken with Barzani over the phone regarding the second wave of operations against the terrorists has been supported by Barzani: "I had the opportunity to communicate the objectives and framework of the operation, especially in northern Iraq," Davutoglu said, adding that Barzani told him that Turkey's anti-PKK and Daesh operations were based on legitimate grounds.
The prime minister also spoke to the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg regarding the strikes.
An informed source in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Anadolu Agency that Carter had arrived on Thursday morning to Baghdad, coming from Saudi Arabia, which he had visited as part of a Middle East tour that included Jordan and Israel.
This is Carter's first visit to Iraq since taking office in February.
