US Defense Secretary Carter Arrives in Iraqi Kurdistan

Ashton Carter and the head of the regional government will discuss countering ISIL.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Pentagon chief Ashton Carter arrived on an unannounced visit to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Friday to discuss counter-terrorism efforts with head of the regional government Masoud Barzani, Pentagon said.

#SecDef arrives in Erbil to meet w/ Kurdistan Regional Govt President @masoud_barzani to discuss countering #ISIL pic.twitter.com/L4fjOmOkCb

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) 24 июля 2015

KRG President @masoud_barzani reviews #SecDef's note in guest book: "We look forward to continuing our partnership" pic.twitter.com/bxocA3XP9A

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) 24 июля 2015

Carter arrived in Iraq on Thursday and met with Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled Obaidi.

According to the US Department of Defense, earlier on Friday, Carter met with US troops stationed in Iraq. The meeting was devoted to the topic of eliminating the threat of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region of Iraq, bordering Iran, Turkey and Syria; it is governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

In 2014, the KRG was expected to hold a referendum on independence but this was postponed due to the advance of ISIL militants.