Haider al-Abadi

Iraq’s new Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari will visit Turkey from Nov. 5-7 in a bid to restore bilateral ties that deteriorated during the term of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Turkish PM Davutoğlu had a phone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, late on Oct. 6 to discuss recent developments

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Sept. 10 as he began a tour of the Middle East to build military, political and financial support to defeat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria.

The UK said on Tuesday it is donating heavy machine guns and ammunition to the Iraqi government to help it counter attacks by Islamic State jihadist group.

According to UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, arms and ammunition worth about GBP 1.6 M were being sent to Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, including the Kurdish regional government.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has been to the first to congratulate Iraq’s new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi whose government was approved at Parliament late Sept. 8.

Davutoğlu held a telephone conversation with Abadi shortly after his Cabinet won a vote of confidence, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Sept. 9, citing sources from the Prime Ministry office.

Gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers and killed at least 64 people, prompting Sunni lawmakers to withdraw from talks on forming a new, more inclusive government capable of confronting the Islamic extremists who have overrun large swaths of Iraq.

Following decisive pressure from inside Iraq and the international community, Iraq’s defiant Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced his resignation from office to allow another Shiite politician, Haider al-Abadi, to form a new government.

Nuri al-Maliki finally bowed to pressure with Iraq and beyond on Aug. 14 and stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope can quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threatens Baghdad.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Aug. 11 Iraq had taken "a promising step forward" in designating a new prime minister, vowing to step up support for a new Iraqi government in a widening conflict that his administration had hoped to avoid.