Trump adviser Jared Kushner meets with Iraqi prime minister during Baghdad visit

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Iraqi Premier Haidar al-Abadi(centre) and members of his government (right) meeting with members of US delegation, including Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:11pm, 4 Apr 2017Updated: 3:15pm, 4 Apr 2017

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Joseph Dunford met on Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.

The visit marks an early foray for the Trump administration into the situation in Iraq. It comes against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into civilian deaths in an area of Mosul near the site of an air-strike by US-led coalition forces last month.

Dunford invited Kushner and Thomas Bossert, a presidential assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, on the trip to meet with Iraqi leaders and US forces and receive an update on the fight against the Islamic State group. Captain Greg Hicks, a spokesman for Dunford, said Kushner was “travelling on behalf of the president to express the president’s support and commitment to the government of Iraq and US personnel currently engaged in the campaign”.

The meeting with al-Adabi came after some confusion regarding Kushner’s whereabouts on Monday morning.

Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Reuters

Kushner’s travel plans initially were revealed late on Sunday by a Trump administration official who said Kushner wanted to see the situation there for himself and show support for Baghdad’s government.