British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) speaks during news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad,Iraq, November 29, 2017. (Reuters Photo)
Baghdad: British Prime Minister Theresa May made a surprise visit to Iraq on Wednesday, meeting her Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad as the war against the Islamic State group there winds down.
Iraq's government released footage of May arriving in Baghdad, greeted by an honour guard, to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on her first trip to Iraq as prime minister.
May is to visit Saudi Arabia for talks later Wednesday with its assertive crown prince over the kingdom-led war in Yemen, the second European leader to specifically seek him out as he amasses power.
The Islamic State group has been driven out of the last town it held in Iraq and has lost its self-described capital in Syria in recent weeks.
"In Iraq, we are working together to defeat Daesh and my visit comes at a critical moment as we see the caliphate collapsing with the fall of Mosul and Raqqa," May told journalists.
"We want to ensure that Iraq can in the future provide that strong, stable and unified state that can provide the security, jobs and opportunities that all Iraqis want and deserve," she added.