A statement from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry received by “Shafaq News" said that “ Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and his accompanying delegation met with the Secretary General of NATO in NATO headquarters in the capital, Brussels“.

“The Secretary General expressed condolences for the lives lost in the recent wave of violence and called on all sides in Iraq to work towards unity in view of the upcoming elections. The Secretary General said that Allies stand ready to support Iraq and are strongly committed to partnership and cooperation with Iraq in the fight against terrorism, Mr. Fogh Rasmussen and the Iraqi foreign minister agreed to explore how the partnership between NATO and Iraq can be further developed in terms of practical cooperation and political dialogue,” the statement added.

The statement added during the meeting that they reviewed the regional situation and the latest developments in Syria and the prospects of finding a solution to the conflict there on the basis of the ongoing preparations for the convening of the Geneva 2 .

Iraq began a military campaign against al-Qaeda and " Daash " after the death of a senior commander in the army , a group of officers and soldiers by a number of " terrorist elements " in Anbar .

NATO has an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme with Iraq dating from 2012. The programme provides the basis for political dialogue and for training cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, crisis management and critical energy infrastructure protection.