Iraqi PM meets with UK counterpart in Baghdad

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday met with British counterpart Theresa May, with whom he discussed the ongoing fight against terrorism and means of enhancing bilateral relations.

May is currently on a visit to Iraq that was not announced in advance.

“Iraqi-British relations have recently seen significant development, especially in the anti-terrorism field,” al-Abadi said at the meeting, according to an Iraqi government statement.

He went on to thank Britain for its ongoing support for Iraq, especially in terms of the repatriation of internally-displaced people.

Following the emergence of the Daesh terrorist group some three years ago, roughly four million Iraqis were forced to flee their homes.

According to Iraqi government estimates, roughly half of these have since returned to their homes after large swathes of the country were liberated from the notorious terrorist group.

The U.K. prime minister, for her part, said Britain would continue providing support to Iraq and was looking forward to enhanced relations with Baghdad.

Iraqi officials did not provide any additional details regarding May’s visit.

Daesh has recently suffered a string of crushing defeats in both Iraq and Syria after overrunning vast territories in both countries in mid-2014.