By Arif Yousuf

BAGHDAD 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi held talks in Baghdad on Sunday with the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford on an anticipated offensive to retake Mosul from Daesh group.

The talks tackled “cooperation between the two countries in the field of training and arming, ongoing international coalition support for Iraq and plans to liberate Mosul," al-Abadi’s office said in a statement.

Gen. Dunford reiterated the U.S. support for Iraqi government efforts to liberate its territory from Daesh and to secure Iraqi needs in its fight against terrorism, the statement said.

In 2014, Daesh militants overran Mosul and vast territory in northern and western Iraq. Iraqi government forces, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, have since managed to recapture most of the territory.