Kerry vows to up pressure on IS during visit to Iraq

US Secretary of State John Kerry vowed today to turn up the heat on the Islamic State jihadist group as he visited Baghdad to show support for Iraq's crisis-hit government.
Kerry, on his first visit to Iraq since 2014, met with senior officials including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to discuss the fight against the extremist group.
He told journalists that the US-led coalition and Baghdad would "turn up the pressure even further" on IS, which has suffered a string of territorial losses in recent months in both Iraq and Syria.
The coalition is carrying out air strikes against IS, and is also providing training and arms to Iraqi forces.

Kerry said that retaking Mosul -- the largest Iraqi city under the jihadists' control -- remained "at the top of the list in terms of priority".
The Iraqi army said last month that its troops and allied paramilitaries had begun what was expected to be a long and difficult offensive to retake Iraq's second city.

Iraq is battling IS, which overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, while it grapples with a financial crisis caused by plummeting world prices for oil, on which it relies for the vast majority of its revenues.
Abadi is seeking to replace his current cabinet with a government of technocrats, a move that has faced opposition from powerful parties and politicians that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

"What we have signalled very clearly today... Is we support Prime Minister Abadi and his government as it addresses these very complex security, economic and political challenges," Kerry said during his visit that lasted several hours.
"We urge everybody to work together. We urge everybody to put the interests of Iraq, writ large, ahead of personal interests or sectarian interests," he said.
Abadi has announced a series of reform measures aimed at curbing government waste and corruption, and improving abysmal public services.
But he has faced significant opposition behind the scenes, and little in the way of real, lasting change has been accomplished.

In February, the premier called for "fundamental" change to the cabinet so that it would include technocrats and academics, as opposed to the current lineup of party-affiliated ministers.
Abadi presented the names of proposed candidates to parliament last week, but some of the nominees have faced significant pressure to withdraw, and at least one has already done so.