Biden to host Iraqi leader with talks underway on winding down coalition against the Islamic State

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden plans to host Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani next month. The visit comes as the countries hold formal talks about winding down the mission of a U.S.-led military coalition formed to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq. The meeting is scheduled for April 15. The two nations have a delicate relationship due in part to Iran’s considerable sway in Iraq, where a coalition of Iran-backed groups brought al-Sudani to power in October 2022. The meeting also comes a year after the kidnapping in Baghdad of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-American academic at Princeton University who is believed to be held by an Iran-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah.