Iraqi PM Hails Iran’s Support for Baghdad against Terrorism

In a meeting with Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi in Baghdad on Sunday, Abadi thanked Iran for its unwavering support for the Iraqi government and nation in the fight against terrorism, Iraq’s al-Sumaria news website reported.

He added that the Iraqi government would continue its victories against Takfiri terrorists thanks to the unity among the Iraqi people that has played a major role in helping the country’s military forces defeat Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) militants.

Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, for his part, praised Iraq for its victories against terrorism, saying, “Successive victories (by the Iraqi forces against Daesh) under the command of the prime minister as well as the unity of the Iraqi nation have astounded the world” and made enemies hopeless.

The senior Iranian cleric also reiterated the Islamic Republic’s support for Iraq in its battle against terrorists in a bid to help restore peace and security to the Arab nation.

In recent weeks, Iraq’s military forces have made significant progress in their fight against Daesh terrorists by liberating the northern city of Tal Afar.

The Daesh militants made swift advances in northern and western Iraq in summer 2014, after capturing territories in Syria.

However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the popular forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive and later forced the Takfiri terrorists out of much of the territory they had occupied.