Haidar al-Abadi

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi spoke on the phone on Dec. 10, during which they discussed deepening cooperation against terrorism.

U.S.-backed Iraqi troops expanded their foothold on the eastern side of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) Iraqi stronghold of Mosul on Nov. 18, as the group pledged to mount more suicide attacks on their offensive to take the city. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced early on Oct. 17 that an offensive had begun to retake Mosul, the country's second biggest city, from under the occupation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu called his Iraqi counterpart, Haidar al-Abadi, on Dec. 30 and congratulated him on the recapture of Ramadi from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants on Dec. 28.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said he rejected joining a quartet to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) consisting of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia in Baghdad due to the presence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

From Moscow, the news for Turkey was not good. Russian President Vladimir Putin chided Turkey and President Tayyip Erdo?an in particular during a Dec.

The kidnapping of 18 Turkish workers in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad was not the work of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK), Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlio?lu said on Sept. 3.      

Sunnis in Iraq do not trust the central government in Baghdad, the country?s deputy president has claimed.

Usama al-Nujayfi - a prominent Sunni - made the claim on June 9, which coincided with the first anniversary of the fall of the northern province of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists.

Russia offered visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi military and other aid on May 21 to help push back the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants who have made further sweeping gains in both Iraq and Syria this week. 

The Iraqi Turkmen Front has expressed concern over a U.S. House committee discussion on a bill which aims to arm Kurds and Sunni tribes in Iraq.

The U.S. House committee discussed on April 29 proposed legislation that would grant President Barack Obama's request for $715 million for security assistance to Iraqi forces fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).