Baghdad - The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly on Saturday arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to hold talks with Iraqi leaders and show support in fighting against the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group. "Iraq is moving from war to peace, although Daesh (IS group) is not finished yet, but Iraq is going into the stage of reconciliation, reconstruction and stability, then Iraq needs support from France and that explain why we are here today," Le Drian said at a joint press conference with Parly and the Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Le Drian said that he and Parly will meet Iraqi President Fuad Masoum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to "say that France will always be with Iraq and we will talk about means to achieve this." "France is strongly committed to supporting Iraq within the framework of the international coalition against Daesh by providing air and logistical support to the Iraqi forces. It also supports Iraq within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the two countries," said Parly. For his part, Jaafari said that Iraq and France are both victims of terrorism, which killed dozens of people in the two countries. However, Jaafari warned that the victory over IS militants in Iraq "does not, in any way, mean the end of the threat of this terrorist organization." The international efforts need to continue to eliminate the terrorist IS militants group, said Jaafari. Jaafari also revealed that he received information from security sources said that the Iraqi forces had seized 70 percent of the city of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul. However, following his announcement, Iraqi military statements said that the security forces have recaptured five more neighborhoods in Tal Afar, including al-Qal'a neighborhood and its old Tal Afar Citadel, which is a ruined Ottoman fortress, located in the center of the city. The two French ministers are scheduled to meet with Masoum, Abadi and other top officials to discuss the political development and the war against the IS terrorist group. They are also expected to travel to Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, to meet with the regional President Masoud Barzani. Their visit to Arbil came amid debate in the country over the Kurdish independence referendum slated for Sept. 25. France has around 500 troops fighting alongside forces of a U.S.-led coalition, the second largest contributor to the international coalition that has carried out thousands of airstrikes against the IS in Iraq and Syria, and provided military equipment, training to Iraqi forces.
