United States defence chief reviews anti-IS war in Baghdad

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made an unannounced visit Wednesday to Iraq as part of a trip to seek more help in the battle against Islamic State militants.

Carter’s visit was largely aimed at fulfilling the USA administration’s wish to accelerate the war against the Syria- and Iraq-based terror group, despite reluctance from the Iraqi government about allowing the US a greater military role in the country, according to a report Wednesday by the Associated Press.

This month, the United States announced plans to deploy elite American military teams to Iraq to conduct raids against Islamic State there and in neighboring Syria.

The Turkish authorities reported that their troops had entered Iraq to ensure the security of the Turkish soldiers deployed earlier at the base to train local militias fighting against terrorist groups.

Vice President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Iraq’s leader, lent credence to Iraq’s claim that its neighbor violated its sovereignty by sending reinforcements to a training camp in northern Iraq.

The Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement its soldiers returned fire, and four had been lightly injured when katyusha rockets landed in their camp north of the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul.

But the deployment outraged the central Iraqi government in Baghdad, which bitterly complained to Ankara and said it would take the issue to the UN Security Council.

Asked Tuesday about the USA request, von der Leyen told public broadcaster ARD that “I’m going to write back and say, of course, we’re on your side, you know that, in the fight against the Islamic State”.

But no agreement emerged from the 40-minute meeting between Carter and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad’s Green Zone. “So we try to provide support”.

Speaking to troops on Tuesday at Incirlik air base in Turkey, which the United States and its allies are using for the air campaign against Islamic State, Carter acknowledged that the threat posed by Islamic State had grown beyond the Middle East.

Abadi faces a delicate domestic political situation as influential Iranian-backed Shi’ite groups reject any enhanced USA military presence in Iraq.