Iraq, Turkey Pledge Cooperation In Fight Against IS Militants

Iraq and Turkey have pledged to work towards greater military cooperation in their fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Turkey is ready to work with Iraq to extend its military assistance, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a joint news conference with his visiting Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, on December 25.

Abadi said the two sides discussed training, intelligence sharing, and delivering weapons to forces fighting the IS group.

"There are preparations being made with the assistance of the Turkish side in providing us with weapons," Abadi said.

Turkey began its training of Kurdish Peshmerga forces last month, and said this could be extended to Iraq's National Guard.

Turkey has also allowed about 150 Peshmerga fighters to cross into Syria from its territory.

However, Ankara has refused to join the U.S.-led air strikes against the militants in Iraq and Syria.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters