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Iranian defense chief in Baghdad on official visit

Xinhua, May 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iran's Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan arrived here Monday on a visit expected to cover security cooperation, Iraqi official television reported.

Dehqan is expected to meet with Iraqi officials, including top military commanders, to discuss bilateral cooperation and the current security situation in Iraq, state-run Iraqiya channel said without giving further details.

Dehqan's visit came amid news that Islamic State militants seized Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, after Iraqi security forces left their positions in the capital city of the Sunni heartland province of Anbar.

Late on Sunday, the fall of Ramadi pushed Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi armed forces, to order the mainly Shiite militias, known as Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, to prepare to participate in battles against IS militants in Anbar, ignoring U.S. concerns that the presence of Shiite militias could spark sectarian strife.

The IS group has seized most of Anbar province and tried to advance toward Baghdad during the past few months, but several counter attacks by security forces and Shiite militias have pushed them back.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since last June, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and IS militants. Endit