LONDON, October 13 (RIA Novosti) – British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi, amid a continuing struggle to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
"In Iraq today meeting Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi to discuss support to GoI in fight against terrorism + need for national reconciliation," Hammond wrote on Twitter Monday.
"I welcomed Iraq PM Haider Al Abadi's commitment to inclusive gov't: vital that all communities unite to fight ISIL," Hammond wrote in another tweet.
On Sunday, the UK Ministry of Defense approved the deployment of a small team of non-combat army trainers in Iraq, to train Kurdish forces that are helping fight IS militants in the country.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a radical Sunni group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012, extending its attacks to northern and western Iraq in June 2014.
The United States authorized airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq in August. In September the military action was extended to Syria with an international coalition having been set up by the United States to defeat the extremists. According to the US State Department, the coalition currently comprises more than 60 countries.
The British parliament voted in favor of UK airstrikes against IS militants in Iraq on September 26. There is yet no decision on UK military action in Syria.
