US defense minister makes a surprise visit to Baghdad

Baku. 16 December. REPORT.AZ/ U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for talks with U.S. military commanders, seeking ways to intensify the fight against Islamic State militants.

Report informs referring to the foreign media, Carter said earlier, at the start of his trip to the Middle East, that he would be speaking to commanders to "get their latest reading on the battlefield situation and also very importantly their thinking about ways that we can continue to accelerate the campaign to defeat ISIL".

Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is a Sunni Muslim hardline group that has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

There are growing signs of U.S. moves to step up its military campaign against the group, which has claimed responsibility for attacks in the West, including bombings and shootings which killed 130 people in Paris last month.