Maliki

"Ten years ago, the Americans helped Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province west of Baghdad form the 'Awakening' movement to defeat a previous incarnation of violent fundamentalist Islam - al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The Syrian air force carried out air strikes targeting militants on the Syrian side of the Iraq-Syria border this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the BBC on Thursday.
      

The Syrian air force carried out air strikes targeting militants along the Iraq-Syria border this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the BBC on June 26.

Maliki told the British broadcaster he "welcomed" any such strike against militants led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, but noted Baghdad did not request the aerial raids which took place on June 24.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad June 23 on a mission to push for Iraqi unity and stability to confront a militant offensive threatening to tear the country apart.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States is interested in communicating with Iran to share information about the Sunni insurgency spreading across Iraq, but Washington is not seeking to work together with Tehran to address the crisis.