Haider al-Abadi

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called on March 30 for protection of civilians to be the "absolute priority" as he visited Iraq, where hundreds of thousands are caught up in the battle for Mosul.

At least 43 civilians, including women and children, were killed on March 27 by airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led coalition aircraft in western Mosul, according to a senior Iraqi military officer.        

The United States banned laptops, tablets, cameras and similar electronic devices aboard planes from 10 cities in eight countries on March 20. The list included Istanbul in Turkey. The other countries in the list are Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates; all of them are Muslim countries from the greater Middle East area. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he won assurances of greater U.S. support in fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in talks on March 20 with U.S. President Donald Trump and top advisers, but cautioned that military might alone would not be sufficient.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım invited his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, to Turkey during a phone conversation between the two leaders on March 14, Iraqi Ambassador to Turkey Hisham al-Alawi told a group of journalists a day later.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım spoke with his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi over the phone on March 14 about the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Prime Ministry's press office has stated.        

Iraqi government forces fighting to drive the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from western Mosul have recaptured a main government building, a central bank branch, the Turkish consulate building and a museum that was ransacked by the group three years ago.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir made a rare visit to Baghdad on Fe. 25, meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the premier's media office said.

It was the first visit of a senior Saudi minister since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, a spokesman for Iraq's foreign ministry told Reuters.

The Embassy of Iraq staged on Sunday a photographic exhibition to muster support for the liberation of Mosul, bringing together Iraqi community members.

Iraqi forces launched an offensive Feb. 19 on jihadists defending Mosul's west bank, in what could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on the country's second city.

The army swiftly retook at least five villages and set their sights on Mosul airport, which lies just south of the city, marking a new phase in Iraq's largest military operation in years.